Whispers in the Shadow
by imaginair
Summary: Sequel to Pokémon Whisperer. After the defeat of Team Plasma, Ivory returned home to go back to her normal life. Well, not really. Team Plasma may have been stopped, but they're far from defeated. Instead of Pokémon rights activists, they're now a group of terrorists. Ghetsis said the Unovans would regret the day they defied him; they have no idea how right he was. B2W2 AU.
1. Chapter 1

Whispers in the Shadows

Chapter 1:

**A/N: This is a sequel to my first story, Pokemon Whisperer. This story will make a lot of sense of you read the story, but if you don't want to, here's some important things you need to know. This is an AU based on the Pokemon Black/White games. In this world there are people with power over Pokemon called Pokemon Whisperers who have a bonded partner Pokemon.**

**Last story: Ivory (White/Hilda in the games) convinces N to stop Team Plasma's take over of Unova. Afterwards, N runs away and gets a new identity while Ghetsis was arrested, and Unova was returned to normal. Ivory, Bianca, Black, and Cheren go home or back on their journeys.**

**I hope you enjoy the story, but if not, at least I enjoyed writing it! As always, please R/R! I don't own Pokemon.**

Black and Cheren walked up through the pearly halls of the Pokemon League towards the Hall of Fame where the Champion and the Elite Four waited for them. Black stared in awe around him as he admired the lovely pictures depicting Pokemon and the ancient stories of Legendaries and people speaking to them. 'This has taken a whole new meaning now that I know people like that actually exist,' Black thought to himself as he stared at a beautiful painting of a man speaking to Arceus.

"They've really done a great job restoring this place," Cheren commented as he looked at all beautiful images and sculptures. "It's hard to believe that almost a year ago half this building was destroyed by Team Plasma."

Black couldn't agree more. Everything looked perfect and timeless. Black looked up at the last image depicting the old Unovan legend of the two kings and Zekrom and Reshiram beautifully remastered. "You know, they missed out on a great opportunity."

Cheren glanced over at Black and asked, "How so?"

"I mean last year we literally had Zekrom and Reshiram both summoned after being stones for like over a thousand years and a bunch of guys running around the streets dressed like medieval knights that followed orders from a couple of Sages and a king. They should totally have created a picture of the battle at Plasma mansion. I can see it now: Iris running at the head of a bunch of cool looking trainers with her Druddigon attacking some Plasma Pokemon. Anthea and Concordia riding around on Reshiram who's beating up Zekrom. You, me, and Bianca beating the snot out of Ghetsis while N and Ivory are making out. I think the artist that makes it should take the artistic liberty of making Ivory a trainer so that it's more dramatic. You know, the Whisperer King of the "'Pokemon in pokeballs are slaves' group falls for a trainer and decides to stop the fighting. It sounds way cooler than him falling for another Whisperer."

Cheren rolled his eyes, "The only reason you want a picture like that to be made is because you want your face drawn on the wall of the Pokemon League. May I remind you that we were the ones beaten by Ghetsis until Iris, Concordia, and Anthea came. Besides, the League has kept our information out of the public and no one knows about what really happened. Even your parents don't know that Ivory was in love with the king of Team Plasma."

"Okay… so maybe in about fifty years after the neo Team Plasma group has been dissolved for several years and all the Sages are dead. Who knows, you_ might_ even have managed to become Champion by then."

Cheren punched Black in the shoulder and looked peeved. 'He's just annoyed because I beat half the Elite Four while he couldn't beat one of them.' For the past year, Cheren and Black had constantly been training their Pokemon so that they could take on the Pokemon League. When the League had finally opened up to new challengers, both Black and Cheren had immediately gone to take them on.

They walked through the last pair of doors as a pair of League guards nodded at them respectfully. When they walked in, they saw a beautiful golden statue with staircases leading up to the respective Elite Four members. Cheren and Black walked to the statue where they pressed their pokedexes against it to identify themselves. The platform around the statue rose like an elevator until they came to the top and were presented with two paths. One towards the white marble colosseum where battles against the Champion take place and another towards the inner rooms of the Pokemon League where Alder's office is and where all the official meetings and paperwork took place. Cheren and Black made their way towards this building.

As they walked in, they saw the Elite Four, Alder, Whisperer Zachery and Iris sitting around a table waiting for them. Alder looked up and smiled, "Black and Cheren. Glad you two could make it. Please be seated." Cheren and Black immediately sat down by the other trainers.

Black looked around the gorgeous room when he noticed the door they had come through and saw ugly black marks that looked like cracks and splinters on the wall. "Hey," Black said unthinkingly, "During your whole Pokemon League restoration thing you kind of missed a spot." Cheren immediately elbowed Black and glared at him.

Alder just laughed and said, "Oh, they didn't miss anything. If you notice the cracks are black. That's because they've been filled with black granite to keep the structure stable. When restoring this place, I chose to keep the office where the League has its official meetings to have at least one reminder of what happened last year. I hope it'll serve as a reminder that there are enemies powerful enough to take down the League and that we must always be on our guard."

Black said, "Oh. Well, that's a pretty cool reminder then." 'I still think an epic painting would be way cooler though' he added silently to himself.

"I'm sure you're both wondering why we invited you here," Iris said authoritatively.

Black and Cheren glanced at each other. They both wanted to become official members of the League and not by default because they were trainers. Both were secretly hoping that the League would recognize them and officially instate them in whatever office they needed them in.

"You two are excellent trainers and you show a lot of talent. Black your goal is to be a Pokemon Master and Cheren's goal is to eventually become the Champion. We've been watching your progress and we were considering extending a proposition to you two."

Cheren looks like he's ready to bounce out of his seat while Black tries to contain his excitement before asking, "What's the proposition?"

"You're both really young, but you both have been exposed to more of Team Plasma than a lot of our top operatives. Also, the League's resources and members have already been stretched thin in our attempt to stop the attacks. We wanted to recruit you to investigate neo Team Plasma. I'm sure you're aware of all the acts of terror they do."

"You mean like blowing up League monuments, stealing people's Pokemon, and making empty threats to the League?" Cheren asked darkly, "Yeah. I think we all know about them."

"Fortunately, not all of the former members of Team Plasma are like that. There were members who knew nothing about Team Plasma's goals for the take over of Unova and they obviously weren't punished, but more importantly, there's a group of former Plasma members who adored their king N. When he left, many of them decided to leave Team Plasma as well. Some of them were pretty high up in the ranks. We've even heard rumors that a Sage is a sympathizer with the former Team Plasma members."

"There's a large branch of them that live down in Driftveil and they've been working with us to try and figure out what neo Team Plasma may be up to. From them, we've gathered that Team Plasma's way bigger than we ever expected. They apparently have another secret lab where some brilliant scientists work. Most of them say that N was meant to eventually control more than one legendary to use as a defense if the United Regions ever decided to attack. Unfortunately, Ghetsis was even more selective about who he chose to let in the loop about his other secret operations. A few of the higher up former members claim that there were several admins that never even joined Team Plasma as a political party."

"Does anyone know more about Team Plasma's secret operations?"

Iris sadly shook her head, "No. We think some of them may know more than they're letting on, but most are terrified of neo Team Plasma. Even though Ghetsis is in jail right now, they're all frightened that he might escape."

Black let out an exasperated sigh, "I know Ghetsis is evil and all that, but these guys are seriously letting him get away with his evil schemes by not telling us everything they know. If they really want to ensure neo Team Plasma goes down, they should all join the League and try to take them down with us."

"Don't underestimate Ghetsis or neo Team Plasma," Caitlin said quietly, "the other six Sages are still at large, and they still have a lot of power. Most of the members of Team Plasma seem almost brainwashed into thinking of them as all-knowing and all powerful. Ghetsis is especially dangerous. You've never seen him in his prison, but he basically owns the place. The other prisoners are terrified of him and several serve him, and the guards also have too much respect for him. Whenever the police try to interview him, he manipulates it so that the interviewer tells him more about themselves than Ghetsis does about himself."

"I don't like how he can get people to do what he wants," Alder says angrily, "But I can see how he was able to convince so many people it would be a good idea to try and overthrow the government."

"Anyway, back to your mission we want to give you. We have an operative working in neo Team Plasma now and she's been sending out locations and info on what they've been up to. We want you to coordinate with her as well as another member of the League, Hugh Huntington of Aspertia City."

"Cool!" Black said excitedly, "I feel like now we'll actually be in on the action instead of just having things happen to us that we don't understand like last time."

"We've already debriefed Hugh on his task and he's contacted the ex-team Plasma member already. He wants you two to meet him in Virbank City where he thinks he might have a lead into Team Plasma."

"Awesome," Black says as he jumps up from his chair. "Those Plasma terrorists won't be able to hide what they're doing for long."

"Don't get cocky kid," Marshal grumbled, "these guys know what they're doing, and they won't hesitate to kill you if they get in their way. They're extremely dangerous."

"We know sir," Cheren said respectfully, "We won't let you down."

* * *

"This summer is going to be great!" Bianca exclaimed, "I'm so glad we're going to travel around again like we did last year!"

I smiled as I walked with her down the streets of Asperita City. This summer, Bianca had told me that she was planning on working as Professor Juniper's lab assistant and helping her conduct research. When Professor Juniper had hinted that Bianca should travel with either a Whisperer or a very strong trainer to help in her travels, I immediately asked to sign up as an intern with Unova lab so that I could travel with Bianca. I had barely even seen Bianca at all this last year because she was now studying at Castelia University to become a Pokemon Professor. We still facetimed and texted, but it wasn't the same as when I could just come over to her house at any time. High School had also become boring without Bianca, Cheren, or Black and I was eager to reconnect with Bianca over the short summer holidays.

I looked up and I saw a small group of teenagers all huddled around the Aspertia Gym all eagerly talking to each other. "Isn't it weird to think that last year that was you, Black, and Cheren?" I ask Bianca.

"I know right! I feel like I was so young and naïve when we left," Bianca said as she pulled out her camera, "okay now it's time that we take a selfie in front of the Gym."

"What happened to all that 'I've grown up' stuff?"

"Ivory, taking pictures is not childish. It's recording our lives through images which is how our posterity will remember us when we were their ages. Some of the most profound moments in history have been shown in picture."

"Yeah… but do you really want your kids seeing you make a bunch of Ducklett faces and making peace signs with your hands? Also, I don't know how many great photographers make their pictures selfies."

"You're sounding just like Cheren, Ivory! Come on! It'll be fun!"

I rolled my eyes, but I let her take the picture of us. Afterwards, Bianca squealed excitedly as she rushed toward the small crowd of new trainers while toting her suitcase that held all the Pokemon the trainers had requested. Bianca gave the normal speech about Pokemon and training. She gave a brief warning about the dangers of Pokemon and how journeys can help you better understand yourself and know what you want to do in life. She then called out names as she handed each new trainer their Pokemon.

Most of the trainers then ran out to the battlefield where they immediately started challenging their friends and other new trainers to battle. I slipped my glasses on as I walked over to where Bianca was standing watching the battles. She turned to me and grinned, "I love watching new trainers fight. They have no idea what they're doing, but they're so passionate! Oh, a Tepig! Get that nasty Snivy!" I smiled sadly, Bianca never did get her starter Pokemon, Smokey the Tepig, back, but she still had managed to become a relatively strong trainer with her Musharna, Moon and her Meinfoo, Nellie.

Suddenly a happy looking girl with her Brunette hair tied up in pigtails came up to me and says, "Oh my Arceus is that a Shinx?" She was pointing at Nightstar, who was on top of my head and looking at all the battles.

I smiled and said, "Yeah. His name is Nightstar."

The girl politely turned to me and said, "He's so cute! Can I hold him?"

I laughed and said, "What do you think Nightstar? Do you want her to hold you?"

Nightstar said something that I think is along the lines of 'sure why not' and he jumped off my head and into the girl's arms. "It must be incredible having a Pokemon that you're so close to. I hope to one day be almost as close to my Pokemon as a Whisperer is to her bonded Pokemon."

"That's quite a goal," Bianca said sounding impressed, "what kind of journey are you on? Exploratory?"

The girl shook her head, "I'm on a research journey. I'm a huge fan of Professor Oak from Kanto who studies the relationship between Pokemon and humans. I want to study the emotions and intelligence of wild Pokemon and compare it to captured Pokemon with humans.

Research shows that most captured Pokemon are less intelligent and powerful than wild ones, but why is that and is there a way to counter it? That's what I hope to find out on my journey!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Bianca says, "What's your name by the way?"

"My name's Rosa. What are your names?"

"I'm Bianca and this is Ivory," she said gesturing towards me while I smiled at Rosa, "and you've already met Nightstar."

Nightstar then leapt from Rosa's arms and into my own. I looked up and said to Rosa, "I hope you really enjoy your journey! It really does change you for the better!"

She grinned and ran off to battle with her new Pokemon while Bianca turned to me and said, "it's way cool that she's on a research journey. I feel like that's kind of what we're on this summer, but it's more official and we have more recording devices than just a pokedex. I can't wait to find hidden grottos and cool exotic Pokemon! Come on, Ivory, let's go. Adventure awaits!"

She pulled my arm as she starts to run out of the Gym, leaving behind the young trainers, and out into the fading light of the day. "Where do we start?" I asked when we finally slowed down.

"I kind of wanted to first observe how wild Pokemon speak to each other and then move on to how wild and captured Pokemon interact. I wast thinking we should head to Floccesy Town since there are a lot of captured Pokemon on farms around there. They probably interact with wild Pokemon more than Pokemon that are always with their trainers."

"Do you think it will help humans and Pokemon communicate with each other?"

Bianca shrugged, "I'm not sure. That's what research and experiments are for."

With that, we walked together through Aspertia City's gate and down route 22 to begin our new adventure.

* * *

Long after Bianca's gone to bed, I found myself sitting by the dying embers of our campfire staring silently into the glow. We've been out traveling for several days and we've already passed Floccesy Town on our way to the local ranch. We've been studying wild Pokemon behavior and how they interact with each other. I was reminded of what N had told me long ago when he said that Pokemon didn't use words to speak to each other. After watching them, it was clear that they would sometimes use body language and chatter at each other for a bit, but for the most part there seemed to be more of an understanding between each other. As if they already knew what the other wanted before even interacting.

Studying the way Pokemon communicate and just being on this research assignment made me think of N. I found myself glancing around to see where N was and imagining conversations we would have if he was here. I still had dreams that he would come to me with the same wild green hair fanned out behind him like a mane, the same soft, gentle eyes, and the same melodic voice. I missed him so much that it almost hurt to think about him.

When he had first left, I felt as if my heart had been crushed and I wouldn't talk to anyone besides Bianca for a while. It was even painful to talk to Black about it. It only made matters worse that the League had demanded that I tell them everything about him. Detective Looker used to always come by and ask me questions, sometimes extremely personal questions, about N and our relationship. He told me that I needed to inform the League the minute I heard anything about his whereabouts or if he ever tried to contact me. They didn't need to bother; he hadn't tried to contact me once.

As time had passed, I was able to get over my sadness that N was gone into a miserable acceptance. I would do anything to see him again, but I don't know if that will ever happen. I'd also probably end up punching him if he showed up again. With all the horrible things happening with neo Team Plasma, I was kind of irritated N hadn't stayed around to take responsibility for his actions and help peacefully stop fighting between the League and Team Plasma. If N had sworn his loyalty to the League, we might have been spared a lot of pain from all the terrorist attacks.

I'm still conflicted on this though. A part of me wants the League to find him and drag him back to Unova. I want him to help stop neo Team Plasma, but it's also selfish because I want him to come back to me. Another part of me wants N to be truly free for the first time. Even when he was living in Discordian Wood, he was forced to stay in the forest away from others and to keep hidden. For the first time, N could go wherever he wanted. I mean he was in danger of getting caught, but at least he could choose what he did. I was happy for him, angry with him, and sad over him all at once. And I still loved him. Even after almost a year, I was still as much in love with him as I had been when he left.

I haven't told anyone that I'm in love with N. Well, the League knows because they had to hear literally everything about him before they let me leave. I'm still embarrassed when I remember telling Alder, who seriously hates N's guts for what he did to the League, that I had kissed N on several occasions and that I had been kissing him before Ghetsis walked in on us. My parents still don't know how I felt, and I'd been trying to act like I was over N around Cheren, Black, and Bianca. Bianca knows that I still love him, but she's stopped asking me about it because she knows how painful it is for me.

I pulled out the pokejournal and stare at the pictures of me and N together. My vision blurred and I realized I'm starting to cry again. "I miss you N," I whispered out loud, "please come back to me," but this wish will probably go unanswered just like all the other times. I sighed and put the journal back into my bag. I'll need to put on a brave face again tomorrow. To act happily even though I still feel empty on the inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

N carefully studied his reflection in the mirror as he adjusted his brown wig to make sure no wisp of green hair could be seen beneath it. When he was satisfied with it, he put in his contacts which turned his normally blue-gray eyes into a murkier brown. N then placed a red Pokemon visor on his head and zipped up his blue shirt. He checked himself in the mirror once more, before turning off the bathroom light and returning to main area of his tiny studio apartment. Trixie looked up as N walked in, and said, _"Morning. You ready for the day?"_

N nodded and said, "I think I did well on the test and my grades from spring semester were good. I'm sure I'll get accepted for the scholarship."

_"Yeah I think you will too. I'm sure all those hours of doing math equations helped for something. I guess we'll find out no matter what."_

N nodded as he lightly hummed and put all his books in his bag. Trixie cleared her throat and N remembered to stop as he looked up and saw some Fletchling dart through his open window. N opened the door, and Trixie followed him as she transformed herself from the little gray Zorua into a young woman with short black hair and red streaks that appeared to be in her twenties.

They stepped outside into the bright, sunny morning where pedestrians were already starting to walk along the cobbled streets of Lumiose City. Prism Tower sparkled and gleamed in the sunlight as a flock of Fletchling flew past it. N sighed in content as he breathed in the blooming marigolds bursting in orange color from the windowsills of gothic architecture houses that lined the streets. People were walking slowly to their destinations while chatting with their friends or walking their Furfrou and sipping their morning coffee.

The Kalos Region was much different from the Unova Region. Everything in the Unova Region was fast paced and the people there jabbered a mile a minute. Here, everyone was laid back, spoke slowly and purposefully, and they all dressed more stylishly. It had been a bit of an adjustment to get used to their fluid accents and the occasional language variation they used when saying a phrase, but now after living here for nearly four months, he had gotten used to it.

They were also different because there was no debate here on whether the Pokemon were happy living with humans or not. It was widely accepted that they were, and no one gave it a second thought. N had noticed that the people here loved their Pokemon as well, but they never paused to wonder if it was right to have a Pokemon battle or not. The Kalosians all believed that it was in a Pokemon's nature to battle, and it would be a crime not to. As he had watched trainers and the interaction of wild Pokemon, for the first time N had thought he could possibly be wrong on his stance on Pokemon rights. They were all happy, and none of them seemed angry that they were battling. The wild Pokemon also didn't seem to care that some of their own were captured and stuffed into balls. The more N had talked to wild Pokemon, the more he realized that Pokemon were different than humans. They enjoyed living in harmony with nature, and they didn't feel the close ties of family and friends like humans did. They were content with their lives and saw no need to improve it like humans did with their inventions. However, they didn't like it when humans became too invasive of their territory since they worried the humans would destroy it. It's why fighting between humans and Pokemon is still so common.

N still didn't know how he felt about it, but he had learned that Pokemon were very useful outside of just being friends to talk to. N now had Pokemon of his own which he had caught here in the Kalos Region. He had never considered how important Pokemon could be for protection until after what his father had done to his only friends and Ivory… and of course after knowing what the Pokemon Masters were capable of.

N shuddered when he thought about the League and the Pokemon Masters. It wouldn't be a lie to say that the six months after he had escaped the Unova Region had been like living in the Distortion World with Giratina. N hadn't realized how arrogant he had been in thinking the International League would be easy to evade when he had used Abra to teleport away. N supposed it was because he had been naïve, and because he had gotten prideful especially after he had single-handedly defeated the Unova League and gone systematically through city after city with Zekrom to "liberate" the Pokemon and subjugate the citizens to Team Plasma. He still felt guilty when he remembered how much he enjoyed watching the defeated Unova League being taken away and how empowered he felt to see the Unovans shy away in fear when he walked by with Zekrom. He was ashamed to think that the scathing reports the news anchors had given about him being an arrogant brat with a god-complex were all true.

'It doesn't matter now,' N thought to himself. 'The past is the past, and there's nothing I can do about it now. Although… I'll always have to live with the consequences of what I've done,' N thought sadly as he imagined Ivory's lovely face and radiant blue eyes. He'd never see her again even though he still loved her. He wished she could be here with him now. He wished he could talk to her about everything he had learned outside of Unova and Team Plasma's influence. He wished he could see her again… he wished he could hold her. N glanced up and saw his face plastered on a wanted poster by the little waiting area for the bus. 'I have to accept that I'll never see her again,' N thought. He was a wanted fugitive. He didn't belong in her world anymore, and he honestly never did to begin with.

Finally, the bus came, and N and Trixie got on as they made their way to the university. As they were passing through the old town square of Lumiose City close to Prism Tower, N noticed there were several League members gathered together. N peered out the window to get a closer look when he saw them. He instinctively shrunk back into the seat of the bus and away from the window. _"What's wrong?"_ Trixie asked anxiously.

"It's them," N whispered. "It's the Pokemon Masters." He wished it wasn't, but there they were speaking to the Gym Leader Clement outside of Prism Tower. N saw the horribly familiar red hat and jacket of the Pokemon Master Red. He also saw the long black hair and stylish red jacket and white scarf of Pearl as well as the white hat and orange shirt of Ruby. It was them, along with a new one he hadn't seen before with a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"_Why are they here?"_ Trixie asked angrily as she tightened her grip around N's arm. _"They can't possibly know your new identity. Besides, they're out here in broad daylight. They probably don't know that you're even here."_

"Or they're trying to get me to run so they can find me easily," N whispered to Trixie.

"How could they know that you're here? I hope they don't know that you're disguised as Nate Anderson from Aspertia City. Not when we've finally settled down."

"I know," N whispered as he watched them with cold dread as the bus drove by them. "I know." Red had been his first loss. He hadn't ever thought it would be possible for him to lose to an actual trainer, but he had.

_The months had started getting colder and there was less and less food and warm shelter he could find out in the wild which was why N had started sneaking into small rural towns along the borders of the Hoenn Region to steal some food. It had been a long day and he was cold and exhausted from traveling in the depths of the mountains to find a few moon stones. Trixie had been sleeping in his arms and he had been too tired to notice a pair of quiet trainers watching them and bringing out their phones as they went by. It was only when Red had come on his Charizard to confront him that he realized his mistake._

_N had thought he could easily take down Red just as he had the Unova League, but he was wrong. Red was a brilliant battle strategist and he had trained his Pokemon to resist a Whisperer's influence to the point that any other Whisperer wouldn't have even had an effect on them. The Pokemon had trusted Red completely and they weren't willing to turn their back on him. That was when N had decided to use the same power he had used when he had summoned and used Zekrom. When he had accessed the power, it had been a sudden rush and he could suddenly hear the inner voices of the wild Pokemon around him. It was only then that he made Red's Pokemon balk and swing their heads in confusion as he ordered them to come to his side._

_It was Red's little Pikachu that had stopped him though. The Pikachu had come up from behind him and used thunder shock to break his concentration and send him crashing to the ground. He had never thought a trainer's Pokemon would ever attack him. _

_Trixie had tried attacking the Pikachu and the other Pokemon, but she was easily out maneuvered and defeated despite her having trained against wild Pokemon during the months they had been on the run. N had desperately tried again to recruit other Pokemon to help him, but each time he did, Pikachu had just shocked him._

_It was at this point that Red had silently walked over to him and Pikachu had grabbed N's pokeball with Abra in it and had jumped on N's head as a springboard to Red's shoulder. N looked up and saw Red standing above him offering his hand. N had just snapped, "You can go to the Distortion World along with the rest of the League."_

_Red had sighed and ordered Pikachu to use thunder wave on N to paralyze him, but by that point N had grabbed the unconscious Trixie and had had a small, wild Raltz use teleport to help him escape._

"_Hey, we're here,"_ Trixie said as she poked N in the side to stop his brooding. N looked up and smiled as he saw the now familiar tall, white buildings of the university he was now attending after getting his new identity and fleeing to the Kalos Region. N tried not to think about the Pokemon Masters here in Lumiose City. He didn't know if they knew he was here, but he'd have to be on his guard and be careful about what he said to people.

N had Trixie wait outside the door of the admissions office as he walked inside to speak to the counselor who he had submitted his application and test scores to. The counselor smiled when he saw N and said, "You must be Nate. Please come in."

N sat down in a chair across from Counselor Armand as he rifled through his application and said, "I must say, your test scores are very high. You did very well in… well everything. I'd say the areas that need the most improvement would be your reading and your science. Your math skills are through the roof and your writing shows that you have a very methodical thought process. You also did very well in all your general classes from last spring semester. Whoever taught you in between your high school years and now must have been brilliant. It's clear from your scores that you've improved a great deal. Your essays show that you're a well-rounded student."

"Yes," N said, his smile faltering a little. "Yes, they were great teachers."

Armand put his reports away and smiled at N, "Well, we're glad you're here in our university. We don't get very many from the Unova Region. Half the time it's our students going to your Castelia or Nimbasa City Universities. What brings you here? Why did you want to go to Lumiose City University and what do you think you contribute to this university that others don't?"

N reminded himself to straighten his posture, smile confidently, and maintain eye contact as he spoke clearly and distinctly, "Well, sir, I'll be quite honest and say that at first I wanted to join the Pokemon League and work with Pokemon. However, I realized that working with Pokemon wasn't really where my talents were. I love my Pokemon, but I find the lifestyle difficult since I had to spend most of my time outside while training Pokemon and it doesn't pay well at all."

Armand nodded with a smile, "Most people face that same problem. Even the best of trainers can't stand it anymore after a while."

N continued, "The Unova Region has also become a dangerous place to live." N looked down for a moment as he felt a rush of guilt overcome him. "Neo Team Plasma is attacking a lot of good people. It's not a very nice place to live anymore."

"I know," Armand said gravely. "I've heard the latest report of their attack on a Pokemon School. No deaths, but it certainly scared a lot of poor trainers."

N looked back up and said, "That's why I'm here in Lumiose City University. It's safer and the programs here are amazing. I also think I provide a unique perspective seeing as I'm from Unova and we've had a very interesting past year. My culture's also different from Kalosian culture. I worked hard last semester, and I plan to continue until I get my degree."

Armand smiled as he extended his hand, "With scores like yours, you've qualified for our scholarship which should help you a lot since your application says you're currently working at a café to help pay your way through school."

"Thank you, sir," N said as he accepted his handshake. "You don't know what this means to me."

**A/N: I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who's still reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I don't know why, but after playing the games, I always felt like N went on to travel the world as well as get an education. The guy's a math genius after all!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Look how cute the Mareep are!" Bianca said ecstatically as she raced to the fence of the farm. "They're so cute and playful and EEK!" she said as she was flung backwards by an electric current from the Mareep.

I burst out laughing the minute I saw Bianca's dazed look and frizzled hair. "They also have electrifying personalities," I said teasingly, "you could say that just being around them is a shocking experience."

Bianca stuck her tongue out at me and said, "Ha ha ha. Why don't you do me a favor and help me up instead of making a bunch of puns."

I helped her up but I continued chuckling as we entered the gates and walked up to the farm to ask permission from the owners to study the Pokemon. Bianca knocked on the door and politely waited for a response. We waited there for a few minutes, but no one answered. I grew impatient and I knocked again but louder. Still no answer.

"Maybe they're not home. They could be out working on the field," Bianca suggested.

"Maybe they think we're here to talk about their Lord and Master Arceus and they don't want us to know they're home," I said jokingly.

Bianca laughed, "Because we just scream pious and religious people," she said while gesturing to my short shorts and tank top. "Anyway, maybe they'd let us record their Pokemon even if they're not here. Besides, if they do come home, we can just tell them what we're doing and they'll be chill with it."

"Bianca I don't think-" I started, but she was already walking towards the Mareep pasture. I sighed and ran to catch up with her as she began recording how two normal Mareep were interacting. I'd just caught up to her when we heard a scream.

Bianca immediately straitened and turned to me with wide eyes, "What was that? Do you think someone got hurt?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure the scream came from behind those trees."

We ran over and past the Mareep who were still serenely grazing in the pasture and didn't seem to notice us or that anything was wrong. We ripped through the branches that tore at us and our clothes until we came crashing into another field. Instead of seeing a bunch of Mareep, we saw two farmers that look like a married couple standing behind two Herdiers who were growling defensively in front of them. There were two guys in black with pirate hats on standing in front of them with their own Pokemon, a Woobat and a Scraggy.

Bianca and I froze when we saw the Plasma insignia on their chests. Bianca grabbed my arm in fear and said, "It's them! It's neo Team Plasma!" I felt as if my body had frozen which prevented me from moving any of my limbs. I'd worried about meeting them again for so long and now here they were. It wasn't until I felt Nightstar rubbing his head against my leg that I remember I'm not alone and I can take down these thugs.

"Hey!" I yelled at them, "get away from them!" I ran over to the farmer and his wife and stand defensively in front of them. I then focused my energy on their own Pokemon they have out to fight, and I got them to come over to support me.

The Team Plasma members looked surprised, but then one of them recognizes me, "It's you! You're the little Whisperer brat that ruined everything."

"I'm the one that ruined things?" I said sarcastically, "you're the ones that literally planned on overthrowing the League and taking away people's freedom and Pokemon. And what's the new Team Plasma's plan now? Oh, that's right, terrorize innocent people."

"We're not terrorizing _innocent_ people," one of the Plasma grunts said, "we're still fighting to keep Pokemon safe from people. We've lost all our power to enforce Pokemon rights since Team Plasma was thrown out as a political party; now we're forced to go to the extreme and break the law for the sake of what's right."

"How is this helping Pokemon?" Bianca demanded, "you're just disrupting their home!"

"These sweet farmers that you're defending are actually exploiting their Pokemon," one of the Plasma members spat, "do you know what they do to these Mareep? They take them into their farm to hook up to a generator where they drain them of all their electricity. Draining a Pokemon of its electricity is a very painful process and Mareep can only go through this for about three years until they can no longer generate electricity. After that, these thoughtful farmers here send the drained Mareep to be slaughtered or to be used as breeding stock if they produced a lot of electricity. How is that in any ways humane or good? You call us the terrorists, but what about the League sanctioned Pokemon abuse?"

I'm shocked and I honestly don't know what to say. I knew that Pokemon were slaughtered on farms, but I didn't know they were so cruelly used to produce electricity. "Well… that's not good, but terrorizing people isn't either. You should-"

"What? Talk to them? Already tried that. They don't listen and now no one will even pay attention to what Pokemon rights activists will have to say. It's your fault you stupid girl. You're the one that made our king fall from grace."

"It's Ghetsis that ruined everything," I yelled. "I actually agreed with a lot of things you said until you tried to take over Unova. Ghetsis is a power-hungry monster and he ruined Team Plasma."

"Ghetsis is a good man. He might have to go to extreme methods to get his job done, but at least he has the backbone to do it and see it through. I can't say the same for his son," one of the Plasma grunts sneered.

I couldn't take these idiots anymore, so I just yelled, "Nightstar zap them to the next century!" Nightstar immediately responded by sending an electric charge out and zapping the two Plasma grunts until they fell to the ground. I turned to the farmers and asked, "Are you okay?"

They nodded weakly and then one said, "Look out!"

I turned around and saw that a Plasma grunt has a device in her hands. She smirked at me evilly and said, "Team Plasma will never fall. You'll regret the day you took our king from us." She then activated the device and I heard an explosion and a blast of wind coming from behind me. I turned around and I saw that they just blew up the farmer's home as well as their barn.

"No," I heard the old farmer cry, "we've lived here for generations! How could you do that to us?!"

I heard the sound of Pokemon being returned and I swiveled around to see that Team Plasma had recalled their Pokemon to their pokeballs. "Maybe you'll think twice before you blatantly abuse innocent Pokemon," the Plasma grunt sneered as she and the other one started running off the field.

"You're not getting away with this," I yelled as I sprinted after them while Bianca stayed behind with the farmers. I followed them into the second field and I'm about to summon the other Mareep to come help us when I heard someone yell 'vine whip'. Suddenly the two grunts were lifted up into the air by two vines from a Serperior.

"Going somewhere?" a familiar voice asked. I looked past the Plasma grunts and saw that it's Rosa standing there with a Serperior. She looked over at me and smiled, "don't worry! I've got this! I also called the police after I saw the explosion." I looked behind her and noticed that a bunch of cops and the fire department have pulled into view.

"You may have won this round you brats, but Team Plasma isn't to be trifled with. We'll rise from Reshiram's ashes and-"

"Wow you guys are really over the top dramatic," Rosa said with a roll of her eyes, "you should probably save it for someone who actually cares to listen to your spiel."

The Serperior lowered them to the ground when a couple of police officers came over and handcuffed them while saying their rights. They led them away, but not before they could glare at me a final time and hiss, "You'll regret this."

"Those guys are like Lilipups," Rosa said lightly, "all bark and no bite."

"Um Rosa, do you not see the burning house and barn that they literally just blew up a few minutes ago? These guys are seriously dangerous!"

"Well… good point, but you can't let that get to you. Team Plasma's just trying to terrify people into respecting them, but if we're not afraid of them, they won't win."

"Maybe, but there's a difference between being brave and being reckless."

"Wow! You totally got those guys with your… Serperior? You've already evolved your Snivy into a Serperior… that was really fast," Bianca said from behind me.

Rosa laughed, "You probably didn't notice because you had so many Pokemon to give to people, but I didn't actually get a Pokemon there. I've raised Ila, my Seperior, since she was an egg and I've been training her for when we would finally go on a journey together."

"That's really cool!" Bianca gushed, "I've heard that Pokemon you raise by yourself are really strong and loyal to their owner."

"Um… no offense, but why are you here?" I asked, "not that I'm not grateful for what you did, but I was just a little curious."

"Research journey! I need to study the emotion and intelligence of farm Pokemon as well! I wanted to study them here, but I guess Team Plasma ruined that."

"We came here for our research as well," Bianca said before hesitantly looking over at me and adding. "You know, we're going to basically be using the same sources to conduct our research, if you want, we'd love travelling with you. You might feel like you're cheating a little on your journey though because Ivory's a Whisperer and it makes it really easy to get close to wild Pokemon."

Rosa's eyes brightened as she said, "Oh could I please! I would love to also learn more about how Pokemon communicate with each other. I think that both our research combined will really benefit each other!"

Bianca turned eagerly to me with her eyes bright with excitement and said, "What do you think Ivory? Are you okay with her coming with us?"

"Of course I am," I said as I smiled over at Rosa. She seems nice enough, if not a little bold. It would be interesting to see two researchers wandering around talking to each other. Besides, there was safety in numbers. Especially nowadays.

"Great, well since that's settled, let's get back to researching Pokemon!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Bianca, Rosa, and I stood in the forest in front of a couple of Patrats while Bianca and Rosa held out their recording devices to monitor their brain waves. "Okay, now watch this," Rosa said quietly as she pulled out a pokeball. She threw it at one of the Pokemon and it was captured in a beam of red light. She walked over and released it again to start recording their brain level activities.

She walked back and said, "Now look at this." She showed us the monitor and I just stared at it blankly. It looked like a bunch of lines going up and down and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be seeing.

Bianca said, "You're right, the brain levels do decrease."

Rosa nodded and said, "Not only that, I found that they become slightly less emotionally mature than before. They can love and feel affection, but not to the same level they might between one of their own species out in the wild. They become more docile and attached to the trainers after capture. It's why when you release a Pokemon that you've just captured they're all friendly and cuddly even though just ten seconds ago they were battling and fighting against you."

Bianca added, "The pokeball also opens certain brainwaves in the Pokemon. See look at my recordings," she said while handing over her own device to Rosa. "See they can now understand humans and the English language after being placed in a pokeball. It's how Pokemon can follow commands they are given and follow instructions. The Pokemon also learn certain gestures and movements that will help their trainers understand them. It's not perfect though because there's still a lot of misunderstanding between Pokemon and humans."

"So, are you saying that a pokeball completely rewrites a Pokemon's brain to fit the trainers?" I asked slowly. "The pokeball brainwashes a Pokemon to get them to listen to their trainers and not think critically. That's a little messed up."

Rosa shrugged and said, "Well the alternative is to be completely unable to communicate with Pokemon and that would be a disaster. There are still humans who think they can reach out to Pokemon by spending more time with them and the ones that aren't killed by doing this come back saying that it's impossible to ever talk to them since they don't have a language for humans to learn. I'll admit that I don't really like how a Pokemon is able to just mold with a trainer's personality upon capture, but at least the Pokemon can now get their voice through."

"But it's not impossible to communicate with them," I insisted. "I had a friend who was really good with Pokemon and he told me that Pokemon just think and speak completely differently from humans. If we could try and shift the way we think, we could maybe start understanding them more."

"That's the problem though," Rosa continued with a sigh. "All our technology is developed with human minds and ways of thinking. It's hard to build something that's completely different from what a human would deem reasonable. Besides, you're a Whisperer, the closest thing a human could possibly come to understanding a Pokemon, and do you fully understand them?"

I hesitated and said, "No. I've tried several times, but all I can ever get is a sense of what they want or need. It's like I can feel their emotions in some ways and piece together a simple message, but I have to concentrate really hard and even then, I'm not sure I fully got the message. Nightstar's the only one I feel I fully understand, but even then, I don't feel like he's using words to speak."

Rosa then held up her recording device and pointed it directly at Nightstar. She looked at the readings and said, "Whisperer's bonded Pokemon are so unique. They're just as intelligent as wild Pokemon, but they have different neuron pathways in their brain open so that they can understand humans and especially their Whisperer. The cool thing is that your mind has it too. It's like you two are perfectly in sync. The pokeball tries to mimic this relationship, but in the process, it's forced to lower the Pokemon's intelligence level to make it more submissive because the bond isn't complete. The more expensive pokeballs, like ultra balls, come closest to creating this bond, but it still is nowhere near what a Pokemon and a Whisperer have."

"So, the pokeball creates an artificial bond?"

"Yes. It's why if a bonded Pokemon is captured in a pokeball, it destroys the bond between the Pokemon and the Whisperer. However, the bonded Pokemon's mind and physiology is so different by that point that it kills the Pokemon in the process. It's why it's completely illegal to ever capture a Pokemon bonded to a Whisperer even when the Whisperer is a criminal."

"I thought bonded Pokemon could just break out of pokeballs, I mean wild Pokemon can," Bianca said.

"Well… it's true that bonded Pokemon could break out of pokeballs before the process is complete, but they're still Pokemon and if you beat them in battle for long enough, they'll no longer have the strength to fight the process."

I shuddered as I hugged Nightstar close to me, "I won't let anyone do that to Nightstar."

"They won't," Rosa insisted. "It would be like murdering your Pokemon in cold blood."

"Wait a minute. I'm confused," Bianca said. "I know that a lot of Whisperers bond with Pokemon even when they're already caught. I mean, Ivory's grandpa, brought Nightstar over here in a pokeball from the Sinnoh Region."

"They weren't bonded yet. When a Whisperer and a Pokemon bond, the pokeball is destroyed. There's a whole lot of really weird things about bonded Pokemon that don't really make sense when compared to all other Pokemon. For example, Pokemon stop evolving at the point when they bonded because evolution induces a personality change along with a physical change. So, Nightstar will remain a Shinx, but Ivory can bring out his power so that he could be as strong as a Luxray. Honestly, no one knows how a Whisperer can amplify their partner Pokemon like that, but we don't even fully understand why Whisperers are even born in the first place since it isn't genetic. There's an entirely unique field of study that specifically researches Whisperers."

"That's interesting. Maybe someday I'll look more into it myself," Bianca said as she glanced up at the sky which had turned to a blood red as the sun set. "We should probably get back towards the campgrounds by the route. It's getting late and I don't want to work in the dark."

"Good idea," Rosa and I said in unison. We looked at each other and laughed as we both said, "Jinx."

* * *

By the time we got our tents set up the stars were out and shining brightly along with the luminous full moon that filled the sky. It was good that we had gone back early because the rain from this morning had made it nearly impossible to find any dry wood. Luckily, Rosa had managed to find some sticks and branches that were relatively dry, and we managed to get a fire going after burning all our tissues to get it started.

Bianca was rummaging through her backpack as she pulled out a bag of marshmallows while me and Rosa had found three sticks for the smores we were planning on making. Rosa and I spread out our blankets across the damp grass and sat down next to each other as Bianca came and handed us our marshmallows. Bianca sighed, "I don't think roughing it in the wild is really meant for me. I'm already thinking about how nice it will be to eat at a nice restaurant instead of eating stuff from a can."

"I kind of like it," Rosa said as she leaned back and looked up at the sky. "It feels so freeing to be out here in the wild with only the Pokemon and the trees around you."

"Yeah," I agreed as Nightstar came up to me and curled into a little ball in my lap. "It's almost like you've left all your problems behind with civilization."

"Along with good personal hygiene and a sense of taste," Bianca said dryly. "Do you know how few times I bathe when I travel in the woods?"

"Um… TMI Bianca. Besides, we'll be in Virbank City soon enough and then we can all get showers along with restocking our supplies."

"How did you get through your own journey?" Rosa asked. "My friends told me that they would be in the woods for so long while they were training their Pokemon that they would resort to forging for berries."

"Well, we only travelled directly through the routes instead of spending long amounts of time training, and… I didn't train my Pokemon for that long," Bianca said quietly.

"Yeah, training can be really difficult. How many Gym Badges did you collect?"

"I only got two Gym Badges," Bianca said before hesitatingly adding, "My Pokemon were stolen while we were in Castelia City before I challenged Gym Leader Burgh."

Rosa was silent for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry for your loss. I almost lost Ila last year during Team Plasma's invasion if it hadn't been for the fact that most people my age don't have Pokemon. Nearly ever single one of my neighbors had their Pokemon taken from them and almost none of them have gotten them back."

"That's right," Bianca said slowly. "Aspertia City resisted Team Plasma's invasion."

Rosa nodded and said, "The cities that were more complacent and less resistant were able to hide more of their Pokemon from the first wave of Team Plasma. They didn't have time to inspect every house of the cities that weren't resistant. Aspertia City has a lot of strong trainers which is why we have one of the best Pokemon schools there is. I still remember when Plasma members came to our doors and demanded we release our Pokemon. A lot of trainers not only beat those Plasma losers in Pokemon battle, they also got into fist fights with them. It was great until N Harmonia came on Zekrom. That was scary. Zekrom was just so… intimidating. You could just feel the power coming off him and then N Harmonia came and forcefully stopped all the battles. At that point none of us had a choice but to do what Team Plasma wanted."

Bianca and I exchanged glances, and I said in a low voice, "That's terrible, Rosa. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."

Rosa shrugged and said, "Nothing we can do about it now. After that ordeal, everyone I knew decided that they wanted to become Pokemon Masters so that they could beat neo Team Plasma once and for all. Anyway, this is kind of a depressing topic. Let's change the subject. So, what are both your plans for the future?"

"Well, you already know that I'm an assistant for Professor Juniper. I enjoy Nuvema Lab's field of research that focuses on the origins of Pokemon, but I'm more interested in Pokemon's interactions between each other and humans. There's a lot that we still don't understand about them or how they work in the wild. We know that most of them live in tribes run by Alphas and Betas, and we know that some types of Pokemon, like dark, ghost, fairy, and psychic are extremely intelligent, but none of them have shown signs of establishing a civilization that we know of. It'd be cool to know what's the difference between Pokemon and humans outside of biology."

"Kind of like what Professor Oak from the Kanto Region studies in Pallet labs," Rosa said.

"Yeah," Bianca replied. "I hope to one day study under him and learn everything I can. When I was a kid I wanted to set up my own research facility, but when I saw all the political mess of grants and League approval I'd have to go to, I decided to just stick with working in an already established lab."

Rosa laughed and said, "When you were a kid you had reasonable dreams. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a Ponyta. Needless to say, that didn't work out. What about you, Ivory? What do you want to do?"

"No idea," I said truthfully. "It's funny because last year I went on a journey of my own to try out all different kinds of internships for Whisperers, but none of them stood out to me as being especially cool."

"Well Ivory," Rosa said, "You'll find that there's no job out there that is everything that you want. Most of the time people go into things that they're fairly good at and don't completely hate, but even the people who love their jobs have days when they hate it. You should sign a contract with a group that has a nice work environment and people you enjoy being around."

"Which means you should sign a contract with the Nuvema research lab and work with me!" Bianca said enthusiastically.

"Bianca, that would mean I'd also work with my dad all the time," I grumbled.

"What's wrong with that?" Bianca asked simply. "Professor Greystorm is awesome!" I was about to tell her that the last time I'd interned at the lab my dad had told all the Professors really embarrassing stories about me and always worried about me when he thought I was going to do assist with a "dangerous" experiment, but then she turned to Rosa and asked, "What about you Rosa? What do you want to do?"

"I also want to go to the Kanto Region, but I want to go to the Silph Company and help them make better pokeballs. It's why I'm doing this research journey."

We talked a while after that, and I found out that Rosa was a big fan of reading just like I was. She knew all my favorite books and even liked the same characters that I did. Bianca was thrilled to hear that Rosa loved volleyball just like she did and that she too had a passion for taking pictures. Rosa could relate to me when I said that high school was boring without friends since her own friends had left on their journeys before her. It was easy to talk to her, and it was cool to see how well she could get along with both of us. Eventually Bianca yawned and looked down at her watch and yelled, "Oh my Arceus it's already past midnight! Talking so much made us lose track of time."

Rosa then brought out her phone and said, "Okay, but first can I get a few pictures before we go to bed?"

"Of course!" Bianca cried excitedly. "I can't believe I wasn't the one to bring it up!"

Rosa smiled as she said, "I'm sending them to my mom in the morning since she's such a worry wart and wants to know what's happening to me all the time. She'll be happy to hear that I've made two nice friends that I can travel with. She's always telling me it's too dangerous to journey alone."

Bianca and I smiled as we crowded closer together for Rosa to take a picture of the three of us and then she took a picture of just me and Bianca.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"I'm sorry about this Champion Iris, but he asked for a meeting with you if he gave us information about neo Team Plasma. He's the one that told us about the attack at the Marine Tube. Thanks to that info, we were able to send in our officers to stop them from setting off the detonator and killing the civilians walking through there."

"Why me?" Iris asked. "The man must hate me since I'm the one that defeated all his Pokemon and put him in jail."

Detective Looker sighed and said, "Iris, I wish I could tell you why, but I haven't the faintest idea. This past year all he's said absolutely nothing about neo Team Plasma, it's goals, or its potential resources. Now, he's finally said at least something. We're hoping that you'll be able to get more out of him."

"I doubt it," Iris said angrily. "He must want something from me personally to arrange a meeting like this."

"Perhaps, but we're not going to give him what he wants," Detective Looker insisted. "We need to use this time to our advantage to get him to reveal the location of the other Sages and to finally tell us at least something about N. You can't let your emotions get in the way of this interview, and don't let him twist your words against you. He does that a lot."

Iris nodded as they turned down the hallway to the interrogation rooms of the prison. Detective Looker pulled open the door that led to the other side of the one way mirror, he glanced back at Iris and said, "Good luck," as he closed the door behind him.

Iris let out a slow breath and tried to calm her racing heart as she always did whenever she was about to battle another opponent. 'This is just another battle. I have to stay calm and win,' she thought to herself. Iris rounded her shoulders and confidently opened the door to the interrogation room.

Ghetsis Harmonia glanced up when he heard the door open, "Ah Iris," he said serenely. "You kept me waiting." Iris carefully studied Ghetsis as she did all her opponents before a battle. Ghetsis looked composed and confident despite being all decked out in an orange jumpsuit with his hands handcuffed to the table. Completely different from the last time she had seen him as the murderous lunatic raging over his defeat at Plasma Mansion.

Iris narrowed her eyes as she slowly sat down across from Ghetsis and said acidly, "Be grateful that I came at all, Harmonia. You said you wanted a meeting with me. Well, here I am. What do you want?"

Ghetsis smirked and said, "My dear Iris, I've heard such terrible things about what my colleagues and former group members are doing to our fair land of Unova. Such a pity. So much needless destruction."

"Like you care," Iris growled, "What was it you said the last time we met? Unovans will regret defying your authority and oh, that's right, you planned on sending a wave of destruction to make everyone fear you. You may be in prison, but I'd bet you've probably organized half of neo Team Plasma's attacks. What is it that you want to say to me? 'I'm happy to see innocent people suffer and the League look so upset about it'. Or, what I personally think you really want to say, 'I'm so great and powerful, you really all should bow down and worship me because I can blow things up.'"

"Iris, Iris. Only weak men destroy needlessly. Everything I do has a purpose. Have you ever played chess my dear?" Ghetsis asked softly.

Iris glared at him for a minute before saying, "No. I haven't."

"A pity. Then let me tell you something important about chess if you ever plan on winning. You must plan five moves ahead while at the same time study your opponent carefully and see how they fight, how they react. You, Iris, are an offensive player. Willing to rush into battle headfirst without a solid ground of defense. You're a great deal like your mentor, Alder, is in that way."

"What does this have to do with anything," Iris snapped. "I didn't come here to talk about chess. I want you to tell me what you know about neo Team Plasma, the Sages, and your son."

Ghetsis sighed and leaned back as he said, "Always so impatient. My dear, what I'm telling you about chess has everything to do with neo Team Plasma." Ghetsis looked directly at Iris and said, "Team Plasma is finally prepared to make its first move. You, Iris, are my opponent. I hope you're ready."

Iris hissed, "Just as we defeated you last time, we'll beat you again."

At this Ghetsis laughed, "You think you won last time? You were lucky at best. Team Plasma destroyed the Pokemon League and the Gym Leaders, we swept through the entirety of Unova. No city could resist us when Zekrom came. Unova was well on its way to subjugation before your little last stand."

"You're right Ghetsis," Iris said coldly. "No one could stop N. It wasn't you doing anything that we couldn't handle. In case you forgot, N turned against you and Team Plasma. N's not with you anymore, so why should I worry about you?"

"Ah, yes. Now we come to the king of our game of chess. Do you honestly think that I let the fate of Team Plasma rest on a pampered, hormonal teenager's shoulders who has absolutely no idea how to lead? N isn't anything other than raw power. He was far too idealistic and by the end of his journey with his silly little friends, he honestly believed that he could change the world with words alone. You think I couldn't see that in him? I'll admit that I didn't expect Anthea and Concordia to summon Reshiram, but I wasn't that surprised when the stupid boy had Reshiram win the fight." Ghetsis then narrowed his red eye dangerously and whispered, "What I hadn't expected was for Rood to betray me."

Iris stiffened in surprise. She knew that the suspected turncoat Sage was Rood since the few high up former Team Plasma members had all hinted at that, but she didn't realize that Ghetsis knew as well. Ghetsis continued, "That traitor was supposed to hold you and the two sisters at bay while I went in to deal with N. Unfortunately, he decided he didn't like my methods of punishment, so he decided to run and hide just like N did."

Iris felt a surge of rage run through her as she yelled, "That's because your form of punishment is to torture your son and murder his friends in front of him!"

Iris was sickened when she heard Ghetsis chuckle. Ghetsis then said, "I don't typically kill unless it's necessary, but in that case, it was. You see Iris," Ghetsis then looked directly into Iris' eyes and said in a deathly low tone, "I don't just defeat my enemies. I crush them until there's nothing left." Iris held back a shudder that was about to sweep through her body as she continued to maintain eye contact with Ghetsis' unwavering one. For the first time, she felt genuine fear prick her heart as she could sense that the last part was a direct threat to herself and all of Unova.

Iris shook her head as she broke eye contact with Ghetsis and said angrily, "You're a monster."

"I suppose from your perspective I am, but to me, I simply see it as doing whatever's necessary to achieve my goals. Even if that costs me my own family. A risk that I don't think you'd be willing to make for your own."

"Why are you telling me any of this?" Iris asked slowly.

"Honestly," Ghetsis said with a smirk. "I asked you to come here and told you all this mainly as a distraction. You see, there's going to be an attack today at Striaton City."

Iris straightened as she said, "What!?"

Ghetsis glanced up at the one solitary clock in the room and said, "Yes, it happened approximately three minutes ago, but that doesn't compare to what just happened here in the prison facility."

At that point Detective Looker poked his head inside the interrogation room and said, "I'm afraid Ghetsis is right. There was an attack on Striaton's Gym restaurant, but more pressingly, there's an attack here. Someone just drove a truck through the front gates of the facility."

Iris looked back at Ghetsis in fury as he gave her a cheerful smile. "You son-of-a-Herdier," Iris yelled as she pulled out her pokeballs. She turned to the guards and growled, "Get him back to maximum security. Don't let him out of your sight and use your Pokemon to kill for any attacker that gets close or if he tries to escape. Get the rest of the guards down to the gates as quickly as possible." Iris turned to glare at Ghetsis and said, "We're not finished here."

"Of course we're not," Ghetsis said as he was unhandcuffed by two guards. "There's a lot more to come." Iris glowered at Ghetsis for one last second before she turned and ran down the hall to stop the attackers.

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to come with me," one of the two guards said respectfully to Ghetsis. Ghetsis followed them out the door and down the long corridor where the prison guards and League members were all rushing down towards the front gates where the attackers were. The two guards led him through a set of secure doors to where the other prisoners remained locked up. As Ghetsis passed, his fellow inmates that saw him shrunk against the walls in fear and averted their eyes. Ghetsis glanced over at the one guard holding to his arm tightly. The guard looked over at Ghetsis in fear before taking a deep breath before he stopped walking through the hallways of the prison. The other glanced back at him questioningly.

"I'm-I'm sorry Micky, but they've got my wife and kids… I'm sorry."

"George, what are you talking about?" Micky asked uneasily as he reached for his pokeball and hitting stick. Before he could reach either a man in all black and white hair appeared behind him and stabbed him. Micky instantly fell to the floor as George looked away, sickened by the sight.

He then handed Ghetsis the security card for leaving the building and said, "H-here sir. It will grant you access to the other prisoners. Alex is being held in Block A while Jenna is in Block B. The Whisperers were taken to a research facility in Virbank City."

Ghetsis smiled at George and handed Katashi the keycard who then teleported away. "Your wife, Susan, and your children, Robert, Christy, and Amber will all thank you. You'll find them safely returned to your home by nightfall."

"You didn't hurt them, did you?"

"No. And since I'm in such a generous mood, I'll do you one more favor. Takeo." Suddenly another member of the Shadow Triad appeared and stabbed George in the arm causing him to cry out in pain. "Now, when the other guards find you, they won't know that you just let me walk away. They'll think that you resisted, and you'll be able to keep your job and stay out of jail."

Takeo then grabbed Ghetsis' arm and together they teleported away.

* * *

Anthea smiled happily as she stepped through the doors of the Striaton Gym and through the small café outside the main battlefield where most patrons sipped Lemonade or Fresh Water as they watched the new trainers fight against one of the three Gym Leaders. Clyde looked up from waiting the tables when he saw Anthea walk through and he said, "Hey, Anthea. Beautiful day isn't it? We've got a whole bunch of young trainers coming through today."

He walked over and offered her some Fresh Water and told her it was on the house. Anthea smiled and said, "Morning, Clyde. Have any trainers earned a Gym Badge yet?"

Clyde nodded his head happily, "You should see all the kids who've been able to get through! I haven't seen so many trainers walk through these doors in a long time. They're all serious as well and determined to learn how to battle. It's the complete opposite of how it's been the last several years. Before, most of the trainers just did it for fun and didn't care whether they really learned how to battle or not, but now…"

Anthea sadly finished, "Now they need to. It isn't a game for them like it used to be."

Clyde glanced at his watch and said, "Well, the Gym should be closing for lunch since it's almost noon. Cilan should be out any time now. Ah, speak of Giratina."

Anthea turned around and saw Cilan smiling by the entrance to the battlefield. Anthea grinned and hurried over to him. She took his hands into her own and Cilan leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. He looked wonderful this day with his bright green eyes alight with the fire of the recent battles he had had with the young trainers and the hot humid air of the June day making his green hair curl at the base of his neck.

After the battle at Plasma mansion the Striaton brothers had been the ones assigned to watch over Anthea and Concordia after they were placed under witness protection. It was during that time that Anthea and Cilan had gotten close, and after dating steadily for six months, they decided to make it official. Cilan and Anthea walked over to a table where he respectfully pulled out her chair for her to sit before settling into the chair across from her. "How was your day?" He asked with a slight hint of worry.

Anthea looked down at the table and didn't say anything before attempting to change the subject by saying, "So, Clyde told me that a lot of trainers are doing really well. That's really impressive since the League's raised their standards and-"

"Anthea," Cilan interrupted as he placed his hand on Anthea's. "Tell me what happened today at Fennel's lab."

Anthea sighed and said, "Fennel's really worried. She… says that my energy levels have all severely decreased, and… almost all my powers are gone."

Cilan looked worried, "I've also noticed that you've been a lot more tired. Is there anything the scientists can do to stop this?"

Anthea shook her head and let out a little chuckle, "You know… for most of my life I kind of wished I didn't have to live with this. I just wanted to be a normal person. Now I finally am, and I've found you," Anthea said as she gently squeezed Cilan's hand. "I have friends, a job, and… a life of my own. It's something I've never had before. But now, everyone's freaked out because of it."

"It's just because we don't understand," Cilan said gently. "Me and the League are just worried for your own safety. We're also worried for Concordia as well. She might be losing her powers too."

Anthea stared down at the glass of Lemonade the waiter had given her. "Cilan… there's something I haven't been telling you." Cilan looked at her in surprise, but he didn't say anything as he waited for her to continue. "I-I think I know why I'm losing my powers. It really started about six months ago, right before Concordia left to go to the Sinnoh Region in search of our people, the Celestas, in the Eterna Forest. The night before she left, she demanded that I pack up all my things and go with her to the Sinnoh Region to help her find N. I refused… I told her I didn't want to help N. I told her that he was the one that left us after we'd been loyal to him for our entire lives with barely a goodbye." Anthea then said guiltily as she traced the tablecloth with her finger, "I told her that if he didn't care about us, then we shouldn't care about what him and move on with our own lives.

"That's when… I noticed I couldn't understand Pokemon as well anymore. It started with the bug type and gradually worked its way up to the psychic type. I can no longer understand my Gothitelle, Angela, because of it. I also can barely heal anything. The most I can do is a few minor scrapes and bruises, but honestly it's all gone."

Cilan bit his lip before saying slowly, "Concordia told us that your powers all come from N. Something might have happened… it might not be related to what you said."

Anthea closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hated to talk about her past to anyone, even Cilan. She liked to pretend that Team Plasma… and even N, no longer existed. Cilan had been so patient with her. He hadn't once pressed her for any details, and he had been the one to insist that the League interrogate Concordia for information regarding N, Ghetsis, and Team Plasma. Cilan had been so good to her, she knew she could trust him, but she still dreaded bringing up the old memories of everything that had happened.

"Cilan, there's something you need to know," Anthea started, but before she could continue, Chili rushed over to their table.

"Our inside informant just contacted us," Chili whispered in a low voice so only Cilan and Anthea could hear. "Neo Team Plasma's apparently been preparing for a big move for a while now and she just found out that they've sent some of their men to attack Striaton City."

"Where?" Cilan asked as he leapt from his chair.

"Here, in the Gym," Chili whispered. "She said they're attacking today at noon. She said she thinks something else might be happening, but she had to get away from her division to tell us. We have to get all these people out before any of them get hurt."

"Why here of all places?" Cilan growled, "This is a Gym for Arceus' sake. Do they really think their men will get away with this?"

"Apparently neo Team Plasma doesn't care." Chili turned to the patrons talking in happy obliviousness to the gravity of the situation and said loudly, "Everyone, we're going to have to ask you all to leave right now. We ask that you all leave in a calm and orderly fashion."

The customers glanced at each other in confusion, but all of them stood up and walked away from the café area. All except one man who sat calmly reading his newspaper. Chili walked over to him and said, "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

The man glanced up and smiled graciously while he stood and looked like he was about to calmly put on his satchel, but instead, he whipped out a pokeball and roared, "Go to the Distortion World you League scum." In the burst of red light, he released a large Dragonite that roared viciously. The man then turned and ran from the scene.

"Hey get back here, you son-of-a-Herdier," Chili hollered. Chili looked back at the Dragonite and saw that its rage was mounting until it seemed to practically be out of control. It began to send bursts of energy to all the surrounding café including at the fleeing citizens screaming in terror at the sight of a frenzied Dragonite. Chili released his Embroar and his Beartic to fight while Cilan sent out his Serperior and Cryogonal.

"We have to get out of the building before the ceiling comes crashing down on us," Cress yelled as he ran and grabbed the hands of his two brothers to run out to where Anthea had already gone.

Cress no sooner had spoken those words when the Dragonite spread its wings and shot a burst of energy through the ceiling and began attacking the building. Cress, Chili, and Cilan all made it out as the Dragonite shot down a hyper beam on the Gym which blew out the windows of the restaurant and sent shrapnel and debris hurtling across the streets to the screaming crowds beneath.

Cress cried out in pain as a piece of shrapnel lodged itself in his arm while Chili and Cilan's Pokemon shielded them from the oncoming debris. Chili roared, "Bree use ice beam on that monster."

"Blizzard use freeze-dry," Cilan ordered his Cryogonal.

The attacks both hit dead center on the crazed Dragonite as it screamed out of control and pain. The Dragonite paused and shook its head before turning away from the Gym Leaders to attack more of the fleeing citizens. "What in the Distortion World is wrong with that Pokemon," Cress hissed through gritted teeth as he held onto his bleeding arm. "That Pokemon isn't even trying to fight us. All it wants to do is fight the ones that can't fight back. The Plasma guy isn't even around ordering it to do anything."

"Doesn't matter," Chili said. "All we have to worry about is stopping that thing."

Cress sent out his own Pokemon and they all ordered for another volley of attacks on the Dragonite. The Dragonite roared in fury as it felt the freezing effects of the attacks slow its movements and flight ability until it came crashing to the ground. It struggled to its feet and roared defiantly at the three Gym Leaders as well as the few people strong enough to send out their own Pokemon to fight the beast.

"Okay, this last hit should do it," Cilan said hopefully. Before anyone could order another attack the lumbering beast suddenly leapt up and lunged directly for a young woman with pink hair standing behind them on the street. Cilan's eyes widened in horror as he saw her cower in fear as the Dragonite flashed its claws menacingly and prepared to use them to slash her. "Anthea!" Cilan screamed.

"Jackie use discharge," Chili ordered his Emolga which quickly flew above the charging Dragonite and released every amount of electric energy it had stored which slowed the Pokemon giving Anthea enough time to run away from the rampaging creature.

Finally, a couple of Whisperers came to help calm and stop the Dragonite while the Gym Leaders sent one final attack to render the Pokemon unconscious. Chili swore as he looked around and saw the people who hadn't gotten away from the attack in time lying on the street moaning in pain while others remained completely motionless. "Those Plasma bastards. I swear I'm going to kill them when I see them again."

Cilan in the meantime had rushed over to the side of the street where Anthea crouched in fetal position with her hands covering her head as her body heaved from her sobs. Cilan gently placed a hand on Anthea which caused her to scream in fear. "It's okay, Anthea," Cilan said soothingly. "It's just me. The Dragonite's no longer a threat. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay," Anthea sobbed. "Team Plasma… Ghetsis… they're coming for their revenge… I know it… they'll kill me… they'll kill us all."

"I won't let that happen," Cilan vowed as he wrapped his arm around her trembling shoulders and rocked her back and forth in an attempt to console her amidst all the screams and the wails of terror from the crisis that just took place.

* * *

"Hmm… the frequency isn't quite right. The Whisperers were able to stop the Dragonite without much difficulty."

"It was still quite impressive, Dr. Colress," Zinzolin said as he walked up beside the man wearing a white lab coat and fiddling with a device attached to his arm. "The Pokemon did everything you wanted without giving it a direct command. You managed to maximize its power above what a normal captured Pokemon can do."

"Perhaps, but Lord Ghetsis wants to ensure that Whisperers are no longer a threat to him without having to lobotomize all his Pokemon. When I get the proper frequency, I should be able to negate the effect that they have on Pokemon and use that same power for the use of Team Plasma. I'll need to run some more field tests on how the device will effect large amounts of Pokemon, but all the preliminary tests show that it'll be possible to control legions regardless of their level or personal attachment to their trainers."

"Or regard to the emotions of a teenager," Zinzolin muttered before saying more clearly, "Well, when Peter and Jackson are freed, you can run some experiments with their help so that you can perfect the frequency. Do you have everything you need for the final invention?"

Colress' eyes immediately brightened with excitement as he said, "I've finished compiling all of Team Plasma's notes on the sisters and the way to create a conduit for the transferring energy. I only need a few more materials, but what I really need is the boy. Have you found him yet?"

Zinzolin shook his head and said, "No. We've cross referenced all of Team Plasma's old informants, but the one he most likely went to vanished and still hasn't been found. He's most likely living in a different Region under a different identity, but we haven't heard anything more than that. That's another reason for this lovely public attack, isn't it, Osamu?"

Osamu suddenly appeared in the room next to the two men carrying a camera and said, "I got as much footage of the attack as I could, sir."

"Did you get a good shot of the Dragonite attacking Anthea?"

"Yes. I made sure the camera was as clear as possible during her attack," Osamu replied dutifully.

"Good. Now, make sure the press gets hold of it without knowing it was us taking the footage. Make sure the news program you give it to is an international one. It needs to spread to all the Regions as quickly as possible."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

**SnowCatt: I love coming up with insults focusing based on Pokemon! I don't like writing too many swear words into my story, so this is a great way to try and get in some in a creative way! Also, Ghetsis is a son-of-a-Herdier! If you think he's bad now, wait till later… he sucks.**

"Follow my lead," Hugh whispered as he walked into the club, "Trust me when I say that you're about to see and hear a lot of things you'll wish you could forget. Just don't say anything stupid to blow our cover too soon."

They had already spent several weeks in Virbank City gathering intel on neo Team Plasma with occasional tips from their inside source on what they were doing exactly. They had gotten several tips that Team Plasma was going to make a big step forward with their plans, but their informant hadn't even known that Ghetsis was going to escape. Fortunately, she had heard about the plan to attack Striaton Gym, so Cilan, Cress, and Chili had had more time to prepare for it and it lessened the damage it might have had.

The one good thing that had happened since Ghetsis' escape was that all the members of neo Team Plasma started to act a lot cockier and were less careful than before. Cheren and Black had seen them out several times now and they weren't hiding as frequently. When the three had snuck onto the docks they had found several deals being made with black market sellers over expensive pieces of metal and scientific equipment. Hugh had done more investigating on his own and found that the black-market dealers owned a club here in Virbank City. They had all decided to go together to find the dealers records so they could find out what metals they had been selling to Team Plasma.

Hugh, Black, and Cheren made their way through the club where several people were dancing and drinking cocktails. Several women were scantily dressed and dancing by poles while the men ogled them. Black felt embarrassed and out of place in the club and was glad that at least Hugh still appeared confident and comfortable.

Hugh walked up to one of the waitresses and whispered something in her ear as he slipped her a wad of cash. She smiled and beckoned them to come with her to the back of the club. The music died down the minute she closed the door behind them and led them down a hallway to a nice secluded room with plush couches and beautiful paintings hanging on the walls.

The waitress called "Mr. Jordan is here to see you sir," before she walked out the door and left the three alone in the room. As they waited, Hugh quickly released a Purrloin from his pokeball and whispered something urgently in its ear. The Purrloin looked at Hugh and nodded before slipping away. The three waited for about a minute more before a man entered the room.

"Ah, Mr. Jordan. A pleasure to finally meet you. I assume you have the item with you now," a tall man with reddish curly hair said as he walked out to greet them.

"Of course," Hugh then pulled out what appeared to be a boring stone and Black couldn't help but worry this entire deal was just about to go sideways.

However, the man seemed thrilled to see it. "Ah yes, the ever stone. I can't tell you how many rich customers I have that want to keep their Pokemon in their first stage evolution. These are so rare. Only Whisperers can go to where they're located."

Hugh nodded politely and said, "I'm glad you like it. Team Rocket has a number of Whisperers we've obtained throughout the years who've provided useful service."

"Hmm… yes. I can imagine that. I invested in buying a Whisperer myself a few years back, so useful. All my deals went so much smoother when the buyer or seller can't win a fight against you." Black felt his blood boil and his hands shake a little from the urge to beat the man in front of him to a pulp. 'Whisperers are people!' Black thought savagely, 'Not just some object you buy or sell.'

Hugh continued as if nothing had happened and asked, "So do you have the information for me on Team Plasma?"

The man sighed and said, "It's a pity you two hate each other. Neo Team Plasma is much better now that they've gotten off their high Ponytas and started acting like criminals. You know, they even sold me a bunch of Pokemon they had taken when they had tried to take over Unova. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Anyway, they're pretty good customers and I'd hate to lose them without reason. Why does Team Rocket want this information?"

"They've messed up our operations countless times and they continue to do so even now that they're a terrorist group. Now, instead of working with the police to raid Team Rocket, they just blow it up. This is retaliation for what they've done."

"You're from Kanto so this doesn't matter to you… but their leader Ghetsis did just escape, and they're growing more and more powerful by the minute. He's most likely going to come to power and take over Unova. He would have my head if I betrayed Team Plasma. Could I just give you the money for the stone rather than the information?"

Hugh shook his head and said, "Team Rocket has plenty of money. What we want is information."

"But information on their deals… that's quite odd. I'm surprised you're not asking for locations or names of people that are part of the group. Why would you want to know what they're buying?" The man asked slowly while narrowing his eyes.

"It's none of your concern," Hugh said shortly.

The man cocked his head and smirked, "Oh really. Well just so you know, I have very close ties with Team Plasma and some powerful friends. I won't just betray them for some punks who claim they're with Team Rocket. What do you two think we should do with them?"

"I think we should kill them right now. They're obviously members of the League."

Black whipped his head around to see two horribly familiar looking gingers, but this time they were all in black and gray with the Team Plasma insignia on their chests. One of them looked at Black and Cheren more closely before saying, "I recognize them from the battle of Plasma mansion. They're all a part of the League."

"Oh dear," the man said, "This all just got really messy. If you are going to kill them, try not to blast a hole in my wall. I've just had this place remodeled."

"You," Black snarls, "Shouldn't you be rotting in jail? I guess the media forgot to mention when they were reporting Ghetsis' escape that two goofy looking trainers also got away. It's not surprising they'd forget. You are gingers after all."

"Hey," the man said, "That's just rude."

"What are you doing with the metals," Cheren demanded, "Are you building something?"

Alex rolled his eyes and said, "Kids these days. We're seriously the ones that should be throwing insults and demanding answers. You three do realize that we're the ones with the advantage in the situation."

"Are you though," Hugh asked while glaring at them, "Did it ever occur to you that we knew we would be caught? I'm aware that Team Rocket rarely goes on undercover missions to uncover something their enemies are up to. If they want to retaliate or get revenge, it's usually through force."

"Yeah," Black said cheekily, "You dummies forgot that we still have Pokemon and some Pokemon have sticky fingers like Lavender has." When he had said that, the small Purrloin Hugh had released earlier leapt out from the shadows holding what appeared to be a ledger. "Oh yeah," Black added, "there are also Pokemon that can teleport! We learned that from your king!" With that, Black sent out a Claydol which immediately teleported them out of there.

"Yes," Black cheered when they found themselves on solid ground away from the club, "Pokemon deus ex machina! Why don't we use Pokemon more like that?"

Hugh sighed in relief, "I'm glad we were able to get out of there."

Cheren glanced over at him, "Really? This entire time you seemed completely cool and collected."

"Yeah, you're kind of like a robot that doesn't show emotion. Everything went according to plan. Well everything besides those two Plasma goons."

Hugh glanced back towards the club and started walking down the street before saying, "When he said he bought a Whisperer to help with deals, I was worried he would bring them out and our plan would have completely failed. We could have very easily died in that situation, and now Team Plasma knows that we three are looking into them. We'll have to be especially careful."

They walked over to the police station where they entered and returned the Purrloin and Claydol to the officers. "Lavender was great," Cheren said complimentarily, "She was able to safe crack that vault in less than a minute. Gavin was also great at teleporting us out."

"Lavender's something isn't she?" the police officer said happily, "If she didn't belong to the police, we would certainly have our hands full with whichever person was her master."

Hugh had already skimmed through the dealer's records and had found what Team Plasma had ordered. "It looks like they bought the melted metal of Bronzong and Metang… that's just wrong," he said with a shudder. "I don't know much about either Pokemon or why Team Plasma would even want something like this. I guess we'll just have to send this to the League."

Cheren was also looking at the ledger and said, "Look. There are a ton of deals that were made in the docks of Castelia. Even more than here in Virbank. We could go over to Castelia and see if we could manage actually stopping a deal so that we could study whatever they're buying."

"Good idea," Hugh said softly, "I don't like feeling so in the dark. If we can figure out what their plan is, we can figure out what they're going to do and prepare for it."

* * *

The man stared at where the three figures had vanished before looking over to Alex and Jenna. They stood and looked more or less indifferent to what had just happened. He then called in his security and said, "The League's discovered us. Destroy our remaining records and evacuate this place. Offer free drinks to the guests and try to get them as riled up as possible so that they'll slow down the police when they come to shut down the club." The man then looked over at the two again and said, "My apologies. The League now knows what you've been buying and that you're here in Virbank."

"It doesn't matter," Jenna said softy, "They'll never be able to figure out what we're using the materials for. Even if they do, they won't be able to stop us. Do you have what we came for Jax?"

Jax smiled as he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Jenna. "As agreed," Jax said quietly, "One Druddigon for the security codes to Virbanks research facility. The Whisperers will be wearing tracking devices, so you'll have to destroy them, or the League will always know where you are."

Alex nodded before saying, "Take care. The League knows what you look like now and they'll try and track you down."

Jax shrugged, "Let them come. I like a good challenge. Besides, when Team Plasma officially becomes the head of the government, I won't have to worry about that anymore."

* * *

"I don't think I really like Virbank City," I said as we walked around the grungy city. The canals looked filthy with bits of trash floating in them and the citizens just looked rougher around the edges. Bianca, Rosa, and I huddled close together as we walked on the grimy sidewalk while Nightstar growled at any strangers that looked creepy.

"It's hard to believe that PokeStudios would set up so close to a place like this," Bianca whispered. "There's a lot of gang violence here and the air's awful from the power plant to the south of the city."

"Let's get on a boat to Castelia City as fast as possible," Rosa responded. All three of us jumped when we heard a few trash cans fall in the alley next to us which sent us racing down the streets and towards Virbank's harbor.

We scurried through the filthy streets as quickly as possible while avoiding eye contact with the grimy people loitering at the side of the street. I was relieved to see the stormy gray water with bobbing ships docked to the pier. However, as we got closer to where the harbor I felt my heart drop when I saw the now horribly familiar black and gray uniforms of neo Team Plasma. There were three of them standing in front of the entrance to the Virbank pier and they appeared to be arguing with a police officer and ship captain. I noticed that there were several nervous looking citizens standing nervously with their pokeballs out and looking unsure whether they would have to battle or not. "Not again," I heard Bianca squeak in fear as she grabbed my arm. "Why don't they go terrorize people in a different Region?"

When we come within ear shot of what was happening, we heard the lone police officer say, "You are all under arrest for destroying public property, obstructing traffic, and being a part of a terrorist organization."

One of the Plasma members moved forward and said, "Whatever old man. You and what army? All of you Tepigs like to spend your time defending the wealthy actors and directors in the upper crust part of Virbank while you let the other citizens rot. Besides, I'd think you and your Gym Leader would be a little busy with what's happening at the Virbank Research facility."

The officer glowered at him and said, "Team Plasma is the one causing almost all the trouble in the entirety of Unova! You destroy everything that you see."

"We sure do, Tepig," the Plasma member sneered. "Unless we get our way. So, here's some advice. Go back to the station, keep your head down, and stay out of our way."

Before the police officer has time to react, Rosa and I quickly walk forward into the fray as she pulled out her pokeball and Nightstar runs up ahead to growl at the Plasma members. Rosa walked confidently right to where the Plasma guys were standing and said, "Well if it isn't neo Team Plasma. I'm not surprised you thugs would be in a place like this since the streets are filled with a bunch of thieves and criminals. This place probably feels like home to you."

One of the Plasma guys glared at her while he backed away uneasily from Nightstar, "We may have been forced to resort to more criminal acts, but that doesn't mean that we are the ones that are wrong. In order to bring about Unova's great future, we must use any means necessary to get there. We've just been forced into a violent situation."

"I'm sure every criminal ever has said something just like that," Rosa said dryly. "Well aside from all the self-righteous crap of making a better future."

"Either way you see it," the man sneered, "You'll never be able to stop us."

"Oh yeah? Well 600 pokedollars that I can stop all three of you right here and now with just one Pokemon," Rosa growled. "I bet you're fighting with Trubbish since they probably remind you of the gutter where you all crawled out of."

The Plasma guy glares at her and pulls out his pokeballs before he sees me and puts it away. "I'm not going to fight with a Whisperer around."

"Why not?" Rosa asked sassily, "It's what you made the League do last year."

"Shut up," one of the members snapped. He then grabbed Rosa by the wrist and spun her around while forcing her to drop her pokeball. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pressed her against himself and said tauntingly, "Not so tough now without your Pokemon are you." He then leaned closer to her ear in a way that made me think that he was whispering something to her.

Luckily, Nightstar reacted quickly and used discharge on all of them. It did hit Rosa as well, but I figured she wouldn't mind in the end when these Plasma punks were arrested. They all went crashing to the ground and I raced over to Rosa to pull her away from neo Team Plasma. Poor Rosa smiled weakly up at me, but I could see that she was in pain, especially because her arms and legs kept twitching form the electrical shock.

The neo Team Plasma uniforms must have been equipped with some electrical detrurrent or something because they all quickly got up and ran down the dock. I heard the police officer release a Whimsicott and yell, "Use stun spore!" The shimmering yellow dust hit two of the Plasma members which caused their muscles to freeze up and send them crashing to the ground. The third member was the fastest of the two and he managed to avoid the stun spore. He kept running down the dock to the end when someone from behind ordered a Pokemon to use tackle.

Suddenly a Growlithe leapt over me and Rosa from where we were kneeling on the dock and bounded down the wooden planks to where the last Plasma guy was running. The Growlithe then tackled the man to the ground where it then bit his arm and forced the man to walk back to where we were.

The police officer quickly ran to handcuff and arrest the two paralyzed neo Team Plasma members before turning to the last one who still being held in place by Growlithe biting into his arm. The Plasma member looked up at the crowd behind us and hissed, "Traitors."

I looked behind me and saw Bianca standing perfectly still with her hands over her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at what was happening. Behind her were the citizens from before that all looked just as scared as Bianca. In front of her though, were three people I had never seen before. One was holding a pokeball and appeared to be the owner of the Growlithe. Other than that, she looked pretty normal in her gray slacks and white blouse.

The police officer walked towards the final member where the Growlithe finally released the man's arm for the officer to handcuff him and strip him of his Pokemon. The Plasma member said proudly, "You may have won this round, Tepig, but Team Plasma can't be contained behind bars. Soon we'll be free and then you'll all pay," the guy then narrowed his eyes dangerously at the three newcomers, "Especially traitors like you."

"I hate to break it to you three, but your boss only escaped prison with his most powerful admins and their Pokemon. There are still a lot of you stuck behind bars that he didn't bother to shall we say 'liberate.' I doubt Ghetsis will do anything to help three punks like you," the police officer snapped at him as other police officers finally drove up to help arrest the Plasma guys.

"Maybe not now, but when Lord Ghetsis rules Unova, we'll all be free once more," he responded with absolute faith.

"Ghetsis is nothing more than a psychopath," I yelled at them. "Do yourselves a favor and tell the League where he is so that they can stop him from destroying more of Unova."

"Like you know anything about Lord Ghetsis," the man said angrily as the police officer pulled him away. The police officer paused by the young woman with the Growlithe and was just thanking her for her help, when the Plasma guy interjected, "Why don't you also thank her for the invasion of Humilau City? She and those other two were all part of Team Plasma before last year. Jack here was especially good at finding people hiding Pokemon. You should thank them all for all your lost Pokemon."

"Shut up," the officer snapped as he hauled him to the police cruiser. "That will definitely be used against you in the court of law."

The other two Plasma members were given Paralyz heal so they could also walk back with the recently arrived police officers. They too glowered at the former Team Plasma members before being taken away. The woman silently returned the Growlithe who had loyally walked up to her side and one citizen to the side muttered, "I wonder if that Pokemon is even hers or if she just stole it." Instead of looking upset at the biting remark, the woman just straightened and walked away with her two friends as the citizens avoided them like pariah.

"Hey, wait," I yelled as I watched their retreating figures. I sprinted down the street after them with Rosa and Bianca at my heels before they stopped and turned back to look at me with guarded expressions. "I just wanted to say thanks for what you did back there. That was very brave of you!"

The woman looked genuinely surprised and she spluttered, "T-thank you. That's the first nice thing someone's told me in a long time."

The two guys next to her also smiled at me and one of them said, "Most Unovans hate us the minute they hear we were part of Team Plasma… and I honestly can't blame them."

"Then why did you join Team Plasma in the first place," Rosa asked curiously.

The three glanced at each other and they all sighed before the woman said, "It's strange that people have literally forgotten everything Team Plasma did before they tried to usurp the government. I joined because I wanted to help Pokemon. I always felt close to them ever since I was a kid since both my parents were always at work and they'd often just leave Pokemon for me to take care of. I worked as a nurse in a Pokemon Center for a while, but it was frustrating to heal obviously abused Pokemon only to give them back to their trainer. It's why I joined Team Plasma in the first place. I wanted to stop Pokemon violence before it even began."

The man to the right of her said, "Honestly, I joined because I thought it would be better if people didn't have Pokemon so that there would be less violence. I believed that if the authorities were the only ones with access to Pokemon, the world would be a better, safer place."

"I joined because I loved how Team Plasma was keeping the streets clean. What they said about the cops not watching over poorer places like here in Virbank City was true. Since there was so much illegal trafficking, gambling, and abuse with Pokemon, it was usually Team Plasma that stepped in to stop things. I grew up in a rougher neighborhood and it was Team Plasma that were the first to notify the authorities about my situation because my parents also abused our Pokemon."

"It's sad that Team Plasma became such a destructive force," I said sadly. "They're ruining everything they ever did. I actually interned with Team Plasma just last summer. You all seemed really happy and like you cared about Pokemon."

"That's because we did," the woman insisted. "A lot of us really thought that we would be making a better world with Team Plasma at the head of the government. You should have heard some of Lo…N's speeches. He was really passionate about Team Plasma, and all of us were willing to risk it all for Team Plasma."

The man next to her then said, "We're here now to fix the wrongs Team Plasma did and what neo Team Plasma is doing. There's a group of Team Plasma that left after it fell last year, and we're located in Driftveil City. Our mission is to restore what Team Plasma once was before they tried to take over and to take down neo Team Plasma at the same time."

"That's great," Bianca said happily. "I really hope that you're able to return Team Plasma to protecting Pokemon and stopping violence."

"I'm just sad there aren't more people like you," I said sadly. "It would be great if neo Team Plasma came to their senses and left."

The three former Team Plasma members exchanged glances before one of the guys said slowly, "Well… it isn't the easiest thing to leave Team Plasma. One of the reasons people are so loyal to Team Plasma is because Ghetsis and the Sages always protected their own. I know most people ask us how we could ever work for a madman and seem to think that whenever he got angry, he would flip over his table or feed a member to his Hydreigon, but it really wasn't like that. A lot of members liked and trusted the seven Sages. If you were loyal to them, then they would try to make sure you were safe and happy. However, if you weren't…" all three of them paled a little before he continued, "Ghetsis is especially unforgiving of people that turn their back on Team Plasma. You don't really think about it when he's your ally, but he ruins the lives of people that go against him. Some of the journalists that used to investigate him were financially ruined afterwards and lost their reputations. Those were just journalists. It's much worse for the ones he considers his actual enemies."

I felt myself go cold a little, but I shook it off and said, "All the more reason to stop Ghetsis and neo Team Plasma. A person like that should never be in power."

"It was nice meeting you three," Rosa said politely. "We should probably get going though now that the docks are clear."

"Yes, it was nice meeting you as well," the former Plasma member said politely. All three of them then smiled and walked further down into Virbank City.

"That was interesting," Bianca said as she turned to us. "We should probably make our way to Castelia City. Our first stop should be Castelia University so that I can download all the data I collected for my project. I'll probably call Professor Juniper as well." She then hooked her arms around both me and Rosa's before saying, "Then we should really do something fun! Everything's getting way too serious, and I think we should all loosen up and have fun. I'm thinking face masks, rom coms, and makeovers!"

Rosa was still staring darkly at the three former Team Plasma members before brightening as she turned to Bianca and agreed enthusiastically with her idea. "It's been so long since I've had a sleepover like that. Most of my friends are boys and they definitely don't do that sort of thing!"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine. As long as we get to see more of the city. Hopefully we won't run into any more of Team Plasma." Even as I said this, I had a sinking feeling in my gut that I would definitely see way more of neo Team Plasma than I would ever want.

**I didn't forget Black and Cheren! They're still part of the story. There's just a lot of people to write about in this story that it might seem like I forget some characters at some point.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please R/R!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"For decades we have called what Pokemon undergo when they experience physical change to be evolution. Yet, from what we've been able to find from the fossils of long extinct plants as well as ancient human skulls, Pokemon evolution doesn't match the definition of true evolution. Evolution takes place after generations and generations of a certain species when a creature develops certain traits and survive in their environment which allows them to pass these traits onto their offspring. True evolution takes thousands of years to occur, and we've seen that Pokemon Evolution as we've coined it, can take place in mere seconds during the heat of the battle."

Professor Sycamore than brought out three pokeballs and released three Pokemon to stand in front of the students in the lecture hall. Gible, Gabite, and Garchomp all stood solemnly in front of the classroom as the students quickly scribbled down notes from the lecture. Professor Sycamore continued, "Clearly we aren't dealing with evolution. Believe it or not, Gible is a fully grown Pokemon that is capable of breeding and producing more Gible. Garchomp is also capable of breeding, however, his offspring will also be Gible. What we have here is a case of Epigenetics rather than evolution. You see Pokemon only evolve when they're forced to whether that be from intensive combat, dangerous environmental situations, or the energy given off by evolutionary stones. There's a reason you almost never see Blazikens, Blastoise, or Charizards wandering around in the wild. It would be difficult for them to survive since they've altered their bodies to be fighting machines that expend large amounts of energy during combat, but out in the wild they'll find it harder to find food and maintain their massive bodies. It's why most wild Pokemon are in their first evolutionary state or they're led by a single alpha in its full evolutionary form and a beta in it's secondary.

"However, we're not here to discuss evolution. We're here to talk about something beyond evolution. Mega Evolution," Professor Sycamore then brought out two stones and said, "These two stones are called a Key Stone and a Mega Stone which specifically works for Garchomp. Almost nothing is known about Mega Evolution or how it's induced, but we know it has something to do with the massive energy waves given off from these stones. It's believed that Mega Evolution only occurs when Pokemon and humans are in sync, however, that still isn't a confirmed theory. All we can say for certain," Professor Sycamore then slipped on the Key Stone and gave Garchomp the Mega Stone. "Is that it certainly exists." At that point Garchomp roared as it glowed a bright white and then suddenly a different, fiercer Pokemon stood in front of them which made the entire classroom gasp in awe. It only lasted a few seconds before the Pokemon glowed once more and returned to a normal Garchomp.

Professor Sycamore said, "Mega Evolution is only in its preliminary phases, so it won't work in combat, which is why no one's heard of it before. However, if Mega Evolution and human brain waves are really linked together, then perhaps we can perfect the bond formed between people and Pokemon through pokeballs and make Mega Evolution a common occurrence,"

Professor Sycamore than continued with his lecture while N drew a column down his notes and had one side be filled with the facts and figures behind the science of Mega Evolution while on the other, he wrote down all the ethical implications and moral questions brought up because of it. 'Why do we need to forcibly make our Pokemon undergo a physical and mental change on a regular basis?' He scribbled down. 'Is it to make battles more sensational, are humans studying this just for the sake of getting more power, why are we perfecting ways to blow each other up while Pokemon are the medium by which we do so?' Finally, N wrote, 'What do Pokemon feel about this?' He knew that Pokemon enjoyed fighting, but Mega Evolution just seemed so unnecessary. N then thought about what he had done in Unova Region with Zekrom and wondered if the battle would have gone much differently if the League members had been able to Mega Evolve their Pokemon. N finally wrote, 'Is Mega Evolution a good thing and I'm just overreacting because I've been told my entire life that humans consider Pokemon as nothing more than tools and devices of destruction.'

Professor Sycamore dismissed the class and N quickly gathered together his things as Trixie got up and stretched her arms in boredom. _"Finally! I thought that guy would never stop talking."_ Trixie said as they exited the lecture hall with a large group of students. _"Time for a break and then… League Politics 101. Ugh. I know you want to take a bunch of classes that mirror what the Sages taught you so that you can hear it from the other side or whatever, but did you have to choose the most boring classes to do it?"_

"Trixie, I'm the one taking those classes and taking notes. All you have to do is sit there and maybe work on learning how to read a little more," N said simply which made Trixie give him a sour look.

"_I know how to read… kind of. Anyway, maybe the classes would be a little more interesting if you had more human friends. You just sit by yourself, with me, or with our other friends when we're outside. If you're going to start a new life or whatever, you have to get out more. See that guy over there,"_ Trixie said nodding over to a tall skinny guy with glasses and coppery skin, _"Why don't you go up to him and say hi. Or what about that girl over there,"_ she said subtly pointing at a girl with thick curly auburn hair.

N looked away and said, "I can't get too close to humans, Trixie. If I did, I'd be forced to lie to them constantly and have to worry about them ever finding out who I am. It's better if I'm alone. Maybe after a few more years and everything's settled down in Unova, I can move on and find some acquaintances, but for now I'm just going to keep my head down and study. Besides, you heard what Arrow told us. The Pokemon Masters are way too close and they even stopped by the university at one point. We might… have to leave."

Trixie sighed, _"Then I guess you'll be forever alone."_

N didn't respond as he exited the building with the other students and walked out into the sunny afternoon light. Lumiose City University was a fairly large and well maintained complex with students rushing back and forth from class to class. There were several large, stately buildings that stood loftily as students poured out of the doors and down stone pathways that interconnected the buildings. Between the walkways were neatly cut lawns and trimmed bushes with intricate flower beds blooming in the middle of them. At the center of the university, was a large modern looking building with clear glass windows running down the side of it making it gleam brightly in the sunlight. Young people of various shapes and sizes were busily talking to their friends and fellow students about schoolwork as they walked between classes or laid in the grass with their books and notes spread in front of them as the wind fluttered their pages. There was a class outside the humanities building that had a group of students and instructor who were busily painting a Delphox that was posing for them.

N went past the surging students and to the far end of the university where there were courts for Pokemon soccer… or football as it was called in the Kalos Region…, tennis, croquet and of course Pokemon battles. N walked through the enclosed open field and threw out his pokeballs and said, "Come on out, my friends."

In a flash of light, all his Pokemon appeared and excitedly cried, _"N!", _as they ran up to him and surrounded him. A small Chespin named Jasper eagerly wrapped his small arms around N's legs and smiled up at him as Tanya, a Dedenne, leapt up onto his arm and then his shoulder to nuzzle him affectionately. Blaise, a Braixen, and Kai, a Greninja, stood respectfully next to him, but he could feel they were also thrilled to see him.

Nothing had made N feel more conflicted then having these Pokemon with him. He still felt it was morally wrong to use Pokemon as weapons to fight, but at the same time, he understood the need for them. Last year he had almost watched his father murder his friends in front of him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He realized now that Pokemon could protected him in ways that he couldn't protect himself which was why he had asked each of these Pokemon to join him in the first place.

He still couldn't help but worry that it was wrong to train even after nearly a year of being away from Team Plasma. Humans exploiting creatures for their powers… it was just like what had happened to him for nearly his entire life. Perhaps that was another reason he felt so close to Pokemon aside from being able to speak to them. The captured Pokemon all experienced the same thing he had. They all gladly used their powers for what they thought was a noble purpose regardless of whether it was right or wrong, they were protected and guarded so that they couldn't run away and no other trainer could take them, and they… had loved their trainers.

N shuddered slightly as he gently stroked Tanya's chin. Trixie came next to him and put her head on his should, _"You doing okay?"_

"Yeah," N said softly. N then shook his head to clear his thoughts before smiling at the Pokemon. "Alright, I'm going to have to study for a little bit, but why Kai and Jasper, why don't you go fight each other for a bit while Tanya sits here with me and Blaise trains a little."

"_Okay,"_ Jasper and Kai said excitedly as they raced to the field to fight each other. Already Jasper had used vine whip to trip the tall Greninja so that he could reach the battlefield faster.

N rolled his eyes as he watched them and he yelled, "Play nice!" which got him a guilty smile from Jasper as he sheepishly looked back.

Blaise turned to N with bright eyes as she fluffed up her tail excitedly. _"Does that mean you're going to brush my tail again!?"_

"Yes, of course. I do it every day, Blaise," N said as he sat down, "But first you're going to have to train. You don't want to get your tail too messy after I brush it do you?"

Blaise sighed, _"I guess not."_ She then turned and ran to the battlefield where Jasper and Kai were fighting so that she could spend time working on powering her fire moves and getting stronger that way.

N glanced down at his watch. He had two hours before his next class, and he had a lot of assignments he had to get through before it started. He'd give himself an hour for purely focusing on his schoolwork, a half hour for spending time with his friends, and then the last half hour for more studying… if he got to it. Once he gave his Pokemon his full attention, it was very hard to focus back on studying.

N had just finished the last integral for his calculus assignment when Arrow, a small Fletchling that was also on N's team, flew through the branches of the trees planted along the perimeter of the field and said, _"N, those guys, the Pokemon Masters, they're here now at the University."_

"_Again!?"_ Trixie asked worriedly as she looked up from the small children's book she had been trying to read. _"Where?"_

Arrow landed on N's shoulder and said, _"They're in the atrium of the Valjean Building. It looks like they're talking to a couple of older administrative people. I don't know what they were saying because I could only watch them through the sky roof."_

"Did you catch anything they were saying before they entered the building?" N asked.

Arrow said, _"I didn't want to get to close for them to see that I was following them especially because there's a Whisperer with them. However, I did hear them say to an administrator standing outside a building to be on the lookout for Unovan foreigner accompanied by a silent companion."_

"Then they probably don't know about my identity," N said slowly. "If they did, they would've just showed up during one of my classes… or come to my apartment directly."

Trixie also straightened and said with a smile, _"They'll also have a hard time connecting that silent companion to us. I change my disguise almost every day so anyone that sees N will think that he's just a player that likes to get around."_

N blushed and hissed, "Trixie!" N then regained his composure and said, "I don't like being left in the dark like this. I want to see what they're up to and maybe find out what they know."

"_Are you sure that's a good idea?" _Trixie asked.

"We need to know before it's too late," N said with finality as he slipped his notebooks back into his bag and summoned his Pokemon back to him. He explained the situation to them and quickly returned each of them to their respective pokeballs.

N then left the open field with Trixie running behind him and hurriedly returned to the central area of campus where the Valjean building was located. They quickly ran up the steps of the pristine building and walked through the doors behind some giggling freshmen. When they walked towards where the administrative offices were, N saw all four of them. The Pokemon Masters were standing with their backs to him while they talked in low voices to Armand. 'Not good,' N thought worriedly to himself. He watched as one of the Pokemon Masters glanced around at the surrounding students who were trying, and failing, not to stare in awe at them.

The Pokemon Masters then ushered Armand back into the administrative offices. N turned to Trixie and said, "Run into the restroom and turn into one of the administrators. Um… the one with shoulder length blue hair and glasses. Trixie nodded before dashing into the restroom and coming out a second later as said woman in a professional looking plaid skirt and vest.

The two of them walked together and entered into the office where the receptionist sat behind a desk and helped a line of complaining students. N and Trixie walked confidently past them without pausing to speak with the receptionist as N led them down the hallway towards Armand's office at the back. They only slowed when they heard their voices coming from a slightly ajar door.

"-You have to understand that we've recently had a large influx of foreign Unovan students. A lot of them are coming here because they're scared of living in their Region anymore. You know, the United Regions is already getting concerned that there will soon be issues with Unovan refugees and illegal immigrants if the neo Team Plasma attacks continue. Especially now that they've become so much more violent. We have a couple of students that come from Striaton City that are requesting to see mental counselors at our school because of it."

'Wait, what happened in Striaton?' N thought as he and Trixie leaned against a wall next to Armand's office. N hadn't heard anything since he had decided it was too painful to look up any more news on Unova. He had decided to use the library solely for research and homework. He didn't have any human friends to hear gossip from and his teachers hadn't mentioned anything about Unova aside from brief mentions of neo Team Plasma's attacks getting worse and Zekrom's summoning from last year.

"I know, sir," N heard a feminine voice, most likely Pearl, say. "That's why it's so important that we find him. We suspect he's here in this university."

"Forgive me if I'm more than a little skeptical," Armand said. "I know that you three are great Pokemon Masters, but I find it hard to believe that N Harmonia would be attending this school. Why would he come to a university of all places? What could he possibly gain by coming here?"

"A life," N heard Red's voice say. "He's wanting to start over away from the League and from Team Plasma. He wants to get an education and probably find a career where he can live a quiet life."

"That's good isn't it," Armand said in slight confusion. "I only know what I've heard from the news, but from what I can gather, the boy was very young and wasn't the actual leader of Team Plasma. If the boy doesn't want to do any harm, perhaps it's best of you to just let him be. Let the boy move on from his past and make a better future for himself without tarnishing his name with a trial and sending him to jail for years on end."

"If it was anyone else, maybe, but this is the boy who summoned Zekrom, destroyed the entire Unova League single-handedly, and helped conquer several cities for Team Plasma. The United Regions can't just ignore a teenager that could possibly grow up to be the same as his father," Pearl said authoritatively.

"The kid's also a walking time bomb with all that power he has," another masculine voice quipped. "If it isn't the League that finds him, it's only a matter of time that a crime syndicate finds him and uses him. We need to find him for his own protection as well."

"…You make a fair point. We'll look into our students under the parameters you gave us. It'll be hard to narrow down if he's under a different identity than Unovan, but we'll try."

"Look for your brightest students," another male voice said. "From the few records we found on him in the Plasma mansion, it's clear that the kid's got a really high IQ and the Sages made sure he was well educated."

"He'll probably be isolated as well aside from a female companion," the first male voice said. "The companion won't be a student and she will just randomly come with him to his classes. She'll probably be pretty protective of him and won't leave his side unless there's a good reason to."

"There's a very good chance he already knows we're here," Red added. "He may very well run before you find out his identity, but that's okay. We'll then know his identity since he'll be the smart kid who suddenly dropped out. This'll force him to burn his identity and push him to start moving again which will make it easier for us to track him. The League almost found him last time, but now we already know his patterns which will make it even easier for us to find him."

"Well, best of luck, Pokemon Masters. Lumiose City University will do everything it can in finding N Harmonia and we'll leave the rest to you," Armand said.

"Thank you," Pearl said. "We'll be back again tomorrow, and we'll start going around and interviewing the professor's that teach the introductory classes. Thank you for your cooperation."

N felt his heart sink as he heard chairs moving and he started to hurry down the corridor with Trixie in tow as the door to Armand's office opened. He ducked around a corner just as the Pokemon Masters all filed out of the room. He thought he had made it when he heard that the Masters had stopped talking. 'Are they coming to investigate?' N worried. He glanced around at his surroundings and saw that he was trapped by a boxed in alcove of a few occupied offices with a couple of cushioned benches for waiting. 'If they come here and Armand sees me… a Unovan foreigner accompanied by a silent girl. Arceus.'

"_I've got another idea," _Trixie said suddenly as she transformed herself into a tall girl with long strawberry blonde hair. She pushed N onto one of the benches and sat close to him before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him smack on the lips. She shifted her long strawberry blonde hair so that it formed a veil between their faces and the hallway where the Pokemon Masters would be. _"Come on,"_ Trixie said mentally to N. _"You got to at least pretend that you want me."_ N then wrapped his own arms around Trixie's illusionary figure and pulled her close to him.

Trixie held N especially close when she heard one of the Pokemon Masters mumble, "Awkward. I guess you really did hear something Storm."

When Trixie finally heard the Pokemon Masters move away, she finally pulled away from N. N scooted away from her as he started pulling black fur from his mouth. "Don't ever do that again. Now you've got hair all in my mouth, and ugh… that was just gross."

Trixie rolled her eyes and said, _"Well it worked didn't it. Don't you know that everyone ignores couples that are making out. Besides, they wouldn't think you'd be making out with me your Partner Pokemon."_ Her eyes then lit up mischievously, _"Then again, you really do love Pokemon. Maybe they'd think you just went full Pokemon during your time out in the wild."_

"Eww! That's absolutely disgusting. I don't like Pokemon in that way. That's just… ugh," N said with a shudder and felt like he was about to gag. "

Trixie just laughed at his reaction as they got up to leave. N cautiously looked around the corner to see if any of the Pokemon Masters were still there, but the hallway was deserted. Trixie came up next to him and said, "What do we do now?"

"I don't know," N said truthfully. "We wait, we eventually get discovered by the Pokemon Masters. We run and we'll be forced to live in the woods for a while… but they're expecting that. We might be able to get to a new Region with this identity, but they'll figure it out soon enough and then know where we are." N's eyes flashed suddenly, "There's something I need to know about first."

**A/N: SnowCatt: As always, thanks for reviewing my story! I really appreciate your support and advice. I'm trying to add more details now so that the world can feel a little more real.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

N wordlessly pulled out his sparse belongings and laid them on his bed as he sorted through the items of the things that he needed and the things he didn't. He pulled out the cash he had made from the sales of the evolutionary stones and quickly counted out how much he had. He saw that he had enough money to buy two plane tickets for himself and Trixie to whatever Region he wanted and maybe a hotel room for a couple of nights and a few meals, but that was about it. He put aside the few spare clothes he had along with his school supplies to leave behind. He pulled open his bag and checked his organized medical supply of potions and restorative sprays. He checked his bag of berries and the few items that he had.

He hesitantly glanced at the few mementos he had brought with him. He picked up his void cube and quickly slid the pieces of the puzzle he had solved a million times before into place until it finally clicked and opened. Inside was a small folded picture which he opened to see a picture of his family. It showed a lovely woman dressed in a white, flowing dress with long, luscious blonde hair that fell in waves down to her waist. She had the same soft features, smile, and blue-gray eyes that N had. She had her arms wrapped around a man dressed all in black with her head leaning against his shoulder. He had one of his arms draped around the woman's shoulder while in the other arm he cradled a small boy of about two with the same wild tea green hair as his father's. It was strange seeing his father like this. His long green hair was tied back in a similar way to how N had his hair before. His red eyes shown with confidence and power as they still had when N had last seen him, but he was smiling in a way N had never seen before. It was strange to see himself as a small boy with laughing eyes and a toothy grin who curled up trustingly against his father. 'We looked so happy,' N thought sadly before he turned over the picture and read the message on the back. 'Mommy and Father love you, N. Carry this picture wherever you go to always remember that our love will be with you no matter how far you go. All my love, Mother.'

N folded up the picture and put it back inside the Void cube where he clicked it shut and slid it inside his bag along the rest of the mementos that had been given as a child. He couldn't bare to leave any of them behind even though they could be used to identify him. N breathed in deeply. 'It's time,' he thought solemnly to himself. 'It's time I found out what's happening in Unova. I've had my one chance at starting a new life taken from me. Might as well find out what's happening in my old one.'

Trixie quietly waited for N to finish with a bag slung over her shoulder as well. N shut off the lights to his tiny apartment and closed the door behind him for the last time. They walked down the stairs and out the door to the now dark twilight sky in complete silence. Not even the Noibat were out to break the eerie quiet. N and Trixie walked somberly through the streets with only the flickering orange glow of the streetlamps to give them light before they reached the doors of the bright, fluorescent Pokemon Center.

N considered the idea of running back into the woods to stay hidden. N shuddered slightly when he thought of the harsh winter months when it got so cold that all his extremities became painfully numb. How he had starved despite begging the poor wild Pokemon for food and assistance. He hated it and he had hated it when he was a child as well though he'd never told Ivory that. He hadn't told her how hard it had been to live out there in Discordian Wood. He remembered never having enough clothes or food during the long winter months. When summer had come, they had plenty of food and Anthea and Concordia had even be able to set up a small apothecary to earn some money, but it had never been enough. He remembered the days he would ask his sisters why they couldn't go to Nuvema Town and live in a nice house without holes and moss growing in it like Ivory's.

He could still remember meeting his father again after those long years in the woods and being reassured that he would never go hungry or cold again. He remembered how his father had tucked him into a warm bed that first night and told N words couldn't describe how happy he was to finally have his son back where he belonged. N had thought he was the luckiest kid in the whole world to have such a wonderful father.

Thinking of his father reminded N of the reason he had come to the Pokemon Center in the first place. N glanced around the nearly empty waiting area and walked over to the side to where a row of black monitors ran along wall. N touched one of the monitors to activate it so that he could access the internet. He pulled up the international news articles and scrolled through the various Regions before he reached Unova. He pulled up an article and read about the most recent neo Team Plasma attack in Virbank where Peter and Jackson were able to escape while lower ranking members were arrested. It didn't take him long to find the news relating to the attack on Striaton almost a month ago. He pulled up the most recent Kalos news reel on the attack and watched:

"In international news, the Unova Region was once again attacked by neo Team Plasma last Thursday," the news anchor said in his lilted Kalosian accent. "There were two simultaneous attacks, one being in northern Unova in the maximum-security detention center while the other was in southern Unova at the Striaton City Gym. Eleven people were found dead on the scene while twenty-one are still in the hospital in critical condition. The attack at the prison resulted in the death of two prisoners as well as four of the neo Team Plasma terrorists. Unfortunately, the former leader of Team Plasma, Ghetsis Harmonia, managed to escape along with two of his top mercenaries, Alex and Jenna Payne."

N felt himself go cold as he watched a footage from a witness during the attack on Striaton City Gym. It clearly showed the rampaging Dragonite as well as the citizens screaming in terror as they ran from the Dragonite blasting a giant crater into the street and collapsing the Gym. N could only watch in abject horror as he watched the Dragonite lunge and attack a pink haired woman that N recognized as Anthea. N felt himself tense and mentally scream, 'No,' as he watched the Dragonite attempt to slash Anthea only to be barely stopped by an Emolga. N covered his mouth and turned from the footage at that point as it turned to show the street scattered with bodies of people.

When N looked back, he saw an anchor woman say, "It's tragic to see that the Unova Region really hasn't stopped being under attack ever since Team Plasma's attempted take over last year. They've received dozens of attacks, but none of them can compare to this one. Almost none of neo Team Plasma's previous attacks resulted in the death of a citizen. Most of the time it was just desecrations and a few attacks on controversial landmarks or businesses, but none of them have been that well organized or planned. This recent attack was well thought out in advance. We need look no farther for proof of this than the fact that the Champion of Unova, Iris, was actually in the facility when Ghetsis and the others escaped. After the two attacks, several members of neo Team Plasma were caught vandalizing buildings and graffitiing "Team Plasma" on them. They were reported to yell, "Team Plasma's returned" before running from the authorities."

N couldn't stand watching anymore so he switched off the monitor and turned away from it. Trixie was also staring wide eyed at the blank monitor and didn't seem to know what to say. N took several deep breaths before walking over to the waiting room and collapsing in one of the seats and covering his head with his hands. "They were going to kill her," N said softly. "They killed all those people."

Trixie didn't say anything for a while before saying, _"N, it wasn't your fault. That's neo Team Plasma's doing, not yours."_

"What about next time?" N asked. "In the next big attack, how many will they kill? Will they kill Concordia and Anthea?" N shuddered when he said this and whispered, "I never told them that I loved them when I saw them again. I didn't even thank them for stopping me from subjugating Unova to Team Plasma. To be honest, I was upset at them half the time for even trying to stop me. I wasn't even thinking about them when I ran from Unova… I only thought about Ivory and how sad she would be. Now, Anthea nearly died. They've had to suffer so much because of me, and I," N then looked down in shame. "I haven't done anything to deserve that kind of sacrifice or love."

Trixie looked tense and worried, _"N… please don't tell me you're thinking about going back to Unova."_ N didn't say anything which made Trixie snap, _"N are you crazy! You left it all behind for a reason. This is exactly what Ghetsis wants you to think after that attack. He wants you to get all mopey and do something stupid like go back to Unova. If anything, you should turn yourself into the League and try to help that way."_

N chuckled darkly and said bitterly, "And turning myself into the League _isn't_ doing what he wants. He always liked to humiliate his enemies which was why he wanted me to do that whole big show of defeating the Champion in a battle. It's probably why he had Iris come the day he planned on escaping. To rub it into her face that he's in control and that she can't stop him. If I turn myself into the League, it saves him the time and resources of having to find me himself. He already found Anthea that way."

_"Then we keep on running," _Trixie insisted. _"We'll just… run."_

"In the meantime, Team Plasma will kill Concordia, Anthea, Bianca, Black… and Ivory. Besides, I doubt we'll be able to stay ahead of the Pokemon Masters when we run. If we run, we'll just find ourselves in the exact same situation."

Trixie looked solemnly at N and whispered, _"I hate to break it to you, but who says Team Plasma won't kill them anyway. Even if you do the stupidest thing imaginable, turn yourself freely over to Team Plasma, who says they won't just turn around and kill them all once they have you? If you try to fight them, they'll probably kill them as well."_

"I'll never let them use me for my powers again," N said determinedly. "I'll fight them in every way that I can. Concordia, Anthea, Bianca, Black, and Ivory won't be in danger if Team Plasma is no longer a threat."

_"N you may be able to take them down if you still had Zekrom with you, but this is just you against all of Team Plasma. This is you against the Sages. This is you against your father. Do you really think that you can beat him?"_ Trixie asked as her voice trailed off at the end.

N looked down at the floor as he remembered when he was twelve, he had learned how to play chess from Rood. He had fallen in love with the game and had worked hard to become better and better until he was finally able to beat Rood. He still remembered knocking at his father's door and asking to play chess with high hopes that he would win. N had felt like he was winning right up until his father had said checkmate. N hadn't noticed that he had been so caught up in victoriously defeating all his father's bishops and rooks that he hadn't noticed how a single knight had slipped through his ranks and came to checkmate his king. He had always admired his father for how smoothly and efficiently he had run Team Plasma, how people had placed so much faith and trust in him because they always knew that his father would win in the end.

N slowly said, "I'm not going to run from him anymore… I honestly don't have anything else to run to. If he's challenging me, then it's time that I faced him instead of letting everyone else be hurt by him. I'm the only one that can stop him."

Trixie growled angrily, _"Stop being a hero, N. Why can't you see that you're playing into Ghetsis' hands? You won't be able to stop him. He'll take you and he'll destroy everything."_

"No," N said resolutely. "He won't because I'll never let him take me." N then turned to his bag and slowly brought out his berry pouch and slid out a single berry.

Trixie stared at it for a minute. _"That's an Oren berry…"_

"I know," N said softly. "Nearly identical to Oran berries except they're a shade darker."

_"Yeah, and they severely hurt Pokemon and kill humans," Trixie _added. _"Don't forget that very important detail."_

"One bite's all that it takes to kill a human," N said. He then turned to Trixie and said, "Last year he told me that my mother had committed suicide so that he couldn't use her for her powers. It was the ultimate sacrifice… and the ultimate win. If she hadn't had me, she would have been able to stop him completely. My father doesn't hold all the pieces. Not when I still have power over my own life." N then looked back down and said, "…maybe the world would be a better place if people with my kind of power didn't exist. I suppose death is the ultimate freedom from everything."

Trixie stared at him and horror and said, _"You're going to commit suicide! N, if you die, I die too! You might live after I die, but I'll be dead the moment you are! I can't believe you're even suggesting this. I won't let you do this!"_

"Trixie, I'm not suicidal and I'm going to fight to live. I'm just saying, that if there's no escape, if Team Plasma's about to take me, then I'm not going to give the satisfaction of using me for my power. My father will lose, once and for all. Even if it results in my death."

Trixie watched as N slipped the Oren berry back into the bag and said, "_Well, let's just make sure that situation never comes up. If you're serious about taking on Team Plasma, let's be in this to win it. Let's fight so that we can both live to be old grumpy people that yell at people and Pokemon that come on our lawns."_

N smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes as he said, "I hope to see you change into some old lady that swings a cane around and yells at people. I hope that all of Unova can live in a world without Team Plasma in it."

Trixie took his hand and squeezed it before saying, _"Arceus help us."_

**A/N: I originally made these chapters 7 and 8 as one, but that was like over six thousand words so I just decided to split in two and upload them at the same time.**

**There was a little nod at Pokemon Mystery Dungeons of the Sky because I really like that game. Also, you don't really have poisonous berries in the Pokemon World so I just threw in this one.**

**This was a pretty dark chapter and I did try to lighten it up a little… but when your character has his attempt at a new life crushed in front of him and then is deciding to end his own life if he get's caught, it's going to get dark. If you like the darkness… there's more to come, but the next chapter will be lighter and fluffier.**

**Thanks for reading! Again please R/R**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

"Look at this Tranquill and Karrablast data," Bianca said excitedly. "Tranquills normally eat Karrablast out in the wild, but now that they're captured, they can live in harmony together. I've been studying the data and I see that the pokeball effectively turns off the predatory instincts in a Pokemon and their ability to distinguish between food sources. It's how you can convince a predatory Pokemon, like most fire types and dragon types, to eat human engineered Pokemon food."

"That's great Bianca," Professor Juniper said happily over the monitor Bianca was skyping her with. "Now how does that tie into how the Pokemon communicate with each other."

"This is where it gets really interesting," Bianca continued. "From observing them, I can see that quite a few of the captured Pokemon have shown signs of attraction to Pokemon of different species. This is a phenomenon that's not seen in wild Pokemon which only show interest to their same species. I've also noticed that the way captured Pokemon communicate with each other mimics how people interact with Pokemon that have hands using them to perform gestures. Specifically, it's the gestures that their trainers use. It seems like the pokeball changes the Pokemon's mindset to believe that all other Pokemon are the same species despite being obviously different types. I also think that Pokemon begin to conform to their trainers and mimic their very movements to be more human. In essence, the Pokemon are starting to interact like humans. The longer a Pokemon has been captured, the less it can understand wild Pokemon and the more it can understand humans."

"Great work, Bianca. Keep up the research and send me more data whenever possible. How has it been traveling Unova again, Bianca and Ivory? I know neither of you reached south eastern Unova during your journeys. Do you like it?"

Bianca nodded vigorously and said, "Aspertia City is a really cute place and the lookout really was breathtaking. I've loved researching everything as well! To be honest, I feel like I've found more questions than answers, but I've enjoyed reading the data and trying to figure out what it all means."

"Oh Bianca, you'll find that most of science is just a series of unanswered questions that lead to more questions before finding any answers," Professor Juniper said lightly. "Sometimes we have to find the right question to ask first and then the answer comes after."

Bianca sighed, "Well I guess I'll have to go look through all my data again to even come up with a hypothesis, Professor. Honestly, right now all the data's telling me that despite being intelligent, Pokemon seem to be incapable of speaking amongst each other aside from more rudimentary forms like warning others of danger or alerting them when food's around. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that Pokemon can be so intelligent yet freely choose to live in the woods to face the elements. It's also weird that despite how much the human population has encroached on Pokemon territory and captured their population, they have no desire to seek revenge. Then, we see proof that Pokemon experience a high release of dopamine in their systems when they battle which means-"

"That Pokemon really do enjoy and want to battle," Professor Juniper said with a smile. "Bianca, you're asking questions that people have been wondering about for years. You aren't going to find all the answers over the course of one summer. There's still so much I don't understand when it comes to Pokemon, and I've been studying them for years. Be patient Bianca. Where's your next destination after this?"

"Well, we're going to Castelia Sewers of all places," Bianca said with a shudder. "We want to study the more recently discovered Pokemon that live there like Trubbish, Grimer, and Muk. The we'll probably go up to Relic Castle to investigate the psychic type Pokemon there."

"Great. Keep me updated," Professor Juniper's forehead then creased with worry as she asked, "Have you been encountering Neo Team Plasma much?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We met them in Floccesy Ranch as well as in Virbank City. Those punks are everywhere!"

"Are they threatening or attacking you?" Professor Juniper asked.

"Well, they're not exactly attacking us individually," I replied slowly. "We just kind of happen to be in the wrong places at the wrong time."

"Remember not to engage them," Professor Juniper said urgently. "You don't want to get into a fight with neo Team Plasma. Especially now with what's happened with Striaton and Ghetsis. A part of me thinks you should come back home early and just work here in Nuvema Lab. I'm worried you'll run into Plasma members that recognize you and try to harm you."

'Too late,' I thought when I remembered the Plasma members in Floccesy Ranch. I then said, "Sometimes it's been a little scary, but overall it's been okay. Don't worry!"

"I can't help but worry when you two are a magnet for danger. I also have your parents asking me if you've told me something that you haven't told them when you talk to them. Just stay safe."

"We will Professor," Bianca said cheerily. We both said goodbye to Professor Juniper before Bianca ended the call and turned to me, "She's starting to sound my dad! He's constantly texting me and asking me if I want to come back home for the summer instead of travelling. Anyway, it's getting late. Let's go meet Rosa and get ready for a fun night where neo Team Plasma doesn't exist!"

* * *

"Almost finished," Rosa said as she applied the last finishing touches of my makeup during our makeover. "You're now fit to be a queen," she said with a chuckle as she handed me a mirror to show an image of me with my hair all dolled up into a beautiful bun with thick brown locks of hair coming down the side of my face and along my back. I didn't really recognize myself since I looked so much older with all this makeup on. I almost looked like I was in my late twenties instead of a normal sixteen-year-old.

Bianca laughed happily as she bounced her recently curled hair back and forth while checking her freshly applied makeup that hugely contrasted with her big fluffy Minccino onesie. "Rosa you sure do know how to apply makeup. I can barely recognize myself! How do you do it?"

"Trade secret," Rosa said with a grin as she winked slyly at me. "Now that we all look gorgeous. I say it's time that we watched some of our handsome dates that will undoubtedly take us on some heavenly dates in our dreams."

I glanced over at Nightstar who was currently sprawled on Bianca's plush pink throw rug and saw him roll his eyes in a way that I felt he was saying, 'Human girls.'

Bianca squealed excitedly as she pulled out a couple of movies and said, "Okay. I have some of the classics like Pride and Prejudice. I have the modern one where Mr. Darcy is a member of the Elite Four that specializes in training dark types, but I'm still a big fan of the classic one where he's a Whisperer bonded to an Empoleon. I also have some of the newest releases from PokeStudios as well as the Princess and the Froakie."

"Classic Pride and Prejudice all the way," Rosa said enthusiastically.

I just stared at the ground and said, "Either's okay with me."

"What's wrong?" Rosa asked. "Don't tell me you don't like cliched romances! They're the absolute best. Especially because real romances don't actually work out like that."

"Are you talking from experience?" Bianca asked Rosa.

Rosa sighed as she put the finishing touches on her own make up and said, "Unfortunately yes. I'm a hopeless romantic so when this guy from my school starts sending me flowers and writing me love letters, I crushed on him so hard. Later I learned that the guy was already seeing a girl named Jessica and he was just doing it so that he could make her jealous. Hopefully there's some guy out there that actually likes me."

"I'm sure there is," Bianca insisted. "I've never had a boyfriend either. The guys at my high school all thought I was just an airhead. There were some guys that pretended to be interested, but most of them were just interested in me physically. Luckily, my two best friends Cheren and Black would go and beat those guys up when I told them about those jerks."

"How about at Castelia University," Rosa asked. "I saw some pretty cute guys walking by in the short time that we were there."

Bianca blushed and said, "I've been on a couple of dates, but most of the nice ones have just been nerds that want to impress me by attempting to show me how much smarter they are than me. I went out with this guy named Connor for a while, but he lost interest in me and gave me that whole stupid: 'It's not you, it's me' spiel. I haven't really dated anyone since."

"What about your two friends Black and Cheren?"

I'm genuinely surprised to see Bianca's blush become an even deeper red as she glanced away, "Well-I… uh," Bianca spluttered as she became even more red.

"Wait a minute," I said slowly. "Do you have a crush on Black or Cheren!? Why didn't you tell me! I didn't even know you saw them that much after you went to college."

Bianca then said, "Well, I keep in touch with them. Especially since they've gone out of hyper trainer mode and went on normal training regimes while preparing for the Elite Four. I mean I haven't been in contact with them for a while, but that's just because they're on some sort of special assignment from the League. They would also swing by and see me on occasion."

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Rosa said. "You can't have a crush on both of them at the same time. Which one is it: Black or Cheren?"

Bianca didn't say anything for the while as she looked furiously down at the pink polka dot bean bag she was lying on. Finally, I broke the silence and said, "Wait a minute… is it… Black? Is that why you haven't told me this? Because he's my brother?"

Bianca looked up in shame and said, "Oh, I'm sorry Ivory. I really wanted to tell you, but it's so awkward to tell the sibling of the guy you have a crush on that you like them. Especially when I don't know if he even returns those feelings. Black's just so brave and cool."

"Bianca, you should have told me! I would have snooped around Black's room and tried to weasel out any information from him on whether he likes you or not."

Bianca looked at me with wide eyes, "You're okay with me having a crush on your brother!?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Of course. He's my brother and I'd only want him to have super cool girlfriends. Which is why I'm glad that it's you that likes him and not someone else."

Bianca grins as she runs over and hugs me and says, "Thank you!"

"When Black gets back from being James Bond or whatever, I'm going to tell him that he should go out with you. I'll admit I'm kind of surprised you're not more into Cheren since most people in high school thought you'd be married in the future."

She punched me in the arm when I started laughing and said, "Hey that rumor that me and Cheren were secretly dating was stupid. He's completely different from me! How could I love a guy that's always serious and hates taking pictures?"

Rosa then said, "Well, I hope it works out between you and Black if that ever happens, but I'll warn you that it'll be real awkward if you two break up since you'll still probably hang out with Ivory and come by his house. It'd be like dating your co-worker and then having to go back to work with them the next day after the breakup."

"That's true," Bianca said, "But I'm sure Black and I would still be friends even if it doesn't work out in a relationship."

"What about you Ivory?" Rosa asked as she turned to me. "Any crushes or boyfriends?"

I looked down and whispered, "No. There's no one."

"Oh, come on Ivory," Rosa said. "There's got to be someone that you like. Bianca's just admitted that she had a crush on your brother. Nothing could top that."

I twirl my finger along the strands of the carpet and said, "Well there was a guy that I liked, but we broke up a while ago. I haven't heard from him since."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rosa said. "I hear break ups really suck. Not that I can speak from experience since I've never been in a relationship."

"Yeah, it's especially sad because they were so cute together," Bianca blurted out. "I still think that if he's ever brought back to Unova they should definitely get back together."

"Bianca," I hissed as I glared up at her from where I was lying on the pink carpet.

Rosa just looked confused as she said, "… brought back to Unova?"

"Um… his dad sent him to a boarding school. Permanently. His dad's the only one that can decide whether he's ready to come back to Unova or not."

"That's pretty extreme. Sounds like he's got a pretty intense dad."

"You have no idea," I said darkly.

"Anyway," Bianca said. "Should we watch the movie? I'm tired of talking about real guys that disappoint you and I want to watch imaginary ones that sweep you off your feet."

"Alright, I'll get the popcorn," Rosa said as she leapt to her feet and bounded over to the kitchen to microwave some popcorn.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

**A/N: SnowCatt: I don't actually watch many chick flicks either! It's funny because I do enjoy them, but I'd rather do something else with my time.**

**So last chapter was light and fluffy… time to get back to the not so happy. Enjoy!**

"Are you sure she said they'd be here on Thumb Pier?" Black asked as they stealthily walked along the border of the pier and scanned the many warehouses and storage units that were built in an orderly fashion all the way down to the docks where several large cargo boats floated by the unloading area. Several police officers were walking along the perimeter as well as a few ship crew members who were busy unloading cargo. It was the dead of night and aside from a few muffled conversations coming from the crew members and the gentle lapping of the water against the pier, it was deathly quiet. "We've been out here for hours and we haven't heard or seen anything."

'Not that we'd be able to see anything,' Black thought as he looked out at the dark bay. He couldn't even see past the docks where a few lights shone dimly since the heavily overcast weather blocked the weak rays of light that would've come from the moon and stars.

"Well she hasn't let us down yet," Hugh said softly. "She's managed to slip us three neo Team Plasma outfits so that we can find out what they're up to."

Suddenly, a surprisingly chill breeze swept through the pier as they all heard a sudden splash of water as if something heavy had just come out or into the water. Black could hear the water lap more heavily against the pier before it finally settled down again.

"What was that?" Cheren asked.

"I don't know but it's made quite an impression on the few people here." Black looked to where Hugh was pointing and saw the crew members nervously dropped the cargo they were unloading and scurried back up the ramps and into their respective cargo ships. Once the crew members were all back inside, they unhooked themselves from the ramps and closed their doors shut with a definite clang. Black looked over to where the police officers were and was disgusted to see that they were all rapidly making their way back to Castelia City and abandoning their posts at the warehouse.

"Those cowards," Black hissed as he watched the police officers retreat. "They're going to get an earful when we tell their commissioner and Burgh about them abandoning their posts."

Hugh and Cheren didn't say anything as they continued to stare fixatedly over at the docks. Black swiveled around to see what they were staring at. Out from the inky blackness of the night came a giant ship. It had regal white sails adorning its top and a sleek black hull with blue highlights. "Wow," Black couldn't help but say as the formidable looking ship smoothly came to a halt next to the pier.

"That must be it," Cheren whispered. "She told us that Team Plasma base was a ship! I still can't believe the Coastal Guard couldn't pick up on it, but then again Team Rocket has been able to slip through to Unova for years now."

"No wonder they switched from dorky knight costumes to those sweet pirate outfits," Black said. "That sailboat totally fits the whole ensemble. I can imagine what their recruitment for new members looks like now, 'Do you want to be a pirate? Do you want to have fun terrorizing innocent bystanders? Then neo Team Plasma is the place for you! We have pirate hats, outfits, and bombs, but the best part is… drum roll… we have a big sailboat!'"

Black could just feel Cheren roll his eyes and Hugh stayed characteristically silent as he continued to watch the ship which had now fully docked and set out it's ramp so that several neo Team Plasma members could walk down and onto the pier.

"Alright, there's enough of them out now that they probably won't notice us," Hugh said as he flattened his spiky blue hair to fit underneath the neo Team Plasma hat and pulled on his black half mask over his mouth. Black and Cheren also followed suit and they followed Hugh as he snuck along the warehouses to where the neo Team Plasma members were.

The neo Team Plasma members were busy loading up the boxes that the crew members had left on the docks. They quickly walked forward to the boxes as Cheren inspected one closely and said, "I think this is just a normal shipment. This looks like it has food and supplies in it. She told us that there would be a lot of really important sales happening at this time and the ledger we found showed they were buying some really expensive scientific equipment, but this just looks like a routine delivery."

"Maybe we could use our disguises to sneak onto the ship," Black said excitedly.

"And then what?" Hugh asked shortly. "Maybe we could drop off a crate and sneak around to see what else is there, but how long before we're caught since we have no security cards. We might be able to fight our way through with our Pokemon and blast our way through the ship where those slime ball Sages are hiding, but how far do you we'll be able to go before the Shadow Triad appear behind us and stab us in the back. Besides, we already have an inside woman. If she has a hard time accessing higher level information and areas, then we certainly will. No, we stick with our plan."

The three looked around once more and acted as if they were guarding the area as the neo Team Plasma members continued to haul the cargo up onto the Plasma frigate. As Black scanned the area he watched as a man in a white lab coat, glasses, and a fancy blue strand of hair that wrapped around his head walked down the ramp accompanied by a few Plasma members. "Guys, three o'clock. I bet a million pokedollars that that scientist looking dude is important."

They quietly watched as they made their way down the ramp and away from the lower ranking neo Team Plasma members. "They're heading towards the warehouses," Hugh whispered. "Remember, don't engage unless necessary. We want to know what we're up against first before we try anything reckless."

Black and Cheren nodded as they followed Hugh who walked confidently around the neo Team Plasma members and to where the scientist and his companions were walking. As soon as they left the lower ranking neo Team Plasma, Hugh began to sneak along in the shadows as the figures slipped into an abandoned warehouse near the docks.

Hugh, Black, and Cheren slipped around the side of the warehouse until they found an open window which they crawled into. When they went inside, they crept along the dusty floor, careful to avoid the broken glass, nails, and broken crates that littered the floor. As they came closer to where they had gone, Black heard a voice say, "-the other shipments should come within the week. We can't get it all to you at once since this material is so valuable."

"That's quite alright," another voice sounded. Black peaked around the corner and saw it was the scientist guy that had said this. He was currently inspecting a crate that a surprisingly normal looking man had presented him. The scientist brought out a few materials and finally a long black rod that almost looked like a cane or a staff. "Team Plasma's fairly patient and willing to wait."

The dealer then proudly said, "We've assembled the staff to your exact parameters. It's 36% Bronzong steal, 44% Metang steal, and finally 20% Rhydon horn."

"Made from the ones whose special ability is lightning rod, correct," the scientist asked.

"Of course. This staff will attract and absorb tons of energy. The secondary piece should be forged soon enough. It's just taking a while since the materials were hard to come by and you wanted it to be decorated."

The scientist chuckled, "Well the circular design serves a purpose, but I'll admit the Plasma insignia is simply a matter of preference. You've done good work, and as promised here is your payment."

The Plasma member to the side of the scientist guy immediately stepped forward and handed him a suitcase. The man then opened it up slightly to reveal a large amount of pokedollars. The man snapped the suitcase shut and said, "Always a pleasure doing business with you, Dr. Colress and of course all of Team Plasma. Send my regards to your leader, his escape was quite impressive."

"I will," Colress said simply. "Contact the Shadow Triad through your usual means when you've finished the secondary piece. Just remember, I'll be checking to see whether you're telling the truth about the rod. If you're lying to us…"

"The Shadow Triad will be paying me a very unpleasant visit. Don't worry. I know what I was signing up for when I agreed to work with you. The staff meets all the specific measurements. Don't worry," the man said as he turned and left with his suitcase stuffed full of money.

Colress in the meantime raised the black rod a little higher as he inspected it. Colress then set it back down in the crate and said, "Get this back to the Plasma frigate." The Plasma members nodded and then picked up the crate and left the warehouse with Colress following swiftly after them.

"What in the Distortion World are they talking about," Black hissed over to his companions. "I think we should just come out and arrest them now. Three against three and one of them looks more like an egghead than a trainer. Our chances should be pretty good. We could interrogate that Colress guy and find out what he knows."

Hugh was silent as the three of them stocked the retreating members outside the warehouse where they were walking in the still night towards the Plasma frigate. Their figures disappearing and reappearing in the shadowy light cast by the flickering lights of the warehouses. Hugh finally said, "This Dr. Colress person seems really important to Team Plasma. We know that Ghetsis isn't one to keep his powerful members unguarded and unprotected. We have no idea how strong the trainers are that are with him and besides, if we attack him, it'll probably send the Shadow Triad running to rescue him. Our cover's already been blown by Alex and Jenna, but our attacking Colress will most likely expose our informant before we're ready."

"But what if letting this guy go leads to more people dying," Black asked worriedly. "It seems like they're building a weapon and what would happen if we aren't able to catch him at the next business transaction? What if he gets away and helps Team Plasma destroy more people's lives when we could be doing something about it right now."

"He said they're getting another shipment ready," Hugh continued softly. "If we could find out when that is, we could get the Elite Four and the Champion involved. Caitlin's Pokemon will be able to sense the Shadow Triad's movements and know where they'll teleport to. If we wait now, we can plan a big raid on the Plasma Frigate with all the League and possibly end the neo Team Plasma terrorists for good. Taking the doctor now won't guarantee that. He'll probably think that neo Team Plasma will come to rescue him and he won't be desperate enough to give us any valuable information. We might be able to use Dream Mist on him, but that's no guarantee since it doesn't really work against a well-disciplined mind. Like I said, we'll wait for our informant to tell us when the next shipment is and then we'll take the scientist and the rest of neo Team Plasma down. We'll have the backup of the League with us so there won't be any mistakes."

Cheren was the one that said, "I'm just worried. It's strange to see their frigate and think it might all end soon. It's almost… too good to be true."

"I understand your concern," Hugh said softly. "Trust me when I say that I'm dying to go in their stupid pirate ship right now and destroy them all with my Pokemon, but I'm not reckless enough to think I don't need backup or support. This is an opportunity to finally stop them, and I don't want to ruin everything by going in unprepared."

* * *

"Lord Ghetsis," Colress said politely as he gave a slight bow to acknowledge his superior's presence.

Ghetsis turned from his monitors and said, "Ah, Colress and Osamu. Did you learn anything from our League shadows?"

Osamu suddenly appeared next to Colress and said, "There are three of them just as Alex and Jenna said. Black Greystorm, Cheren Amari, and Hugh Huntington. From the conversation I heard at the end, it appears that Hugh is the leader of the three. They didn't attack tonight because they're waiting until they have reinforcements to attack Team Plasma."

"Did you find out who the informant is?"

Osamu shook his head, "They just said 'our informant.' I didn't hear any indication of a name or even a gender."

"Whoever they are, they knew about the attack on Striaton and our business deals," Ghetsis said softly. "That's not something we tell our low-ranking members that usually turn out to be fodder for the police forces. This one must have a fairly high rank."

"Possibly an admin," Colress said slowly. "…or a Sage. I mean, it's happened before."

"I'm well aware," Ghetsis said irritably. "However, I doubt it was any of them. Ever since Rood's betrayal, I've had them oversee certain units of Team Plasma and I haven't told them when all the attacks are happening. None of them knew about the attack on Striaton aside from Zinzolin. Besides, our operative said that the Gym Leaders didn't evacuate till last minute which means they most likely weren't involved in the operation at all and just happened to hear about it. It's most likely someone that works underneath our admins. One of the ones that follow the Sages, you, or me around and are exposed to information just by being in our presence."

"What should we do, Master Ghetsis?" Osamu asked solemnly.

"Our informant doesn't know that they've been exposed. Why not set up a trap for them and their little crusading League friends? We won't tell any of our members when the next real sale is, but we will tell them when the imaginary one is taking place. Now, Dr. Colress, how is the device coming along?"

"By leaps and bounds now that I'm able to study with Whisperers," Colress said smoothly. "I've been able to modify the frequency to the point where it matches that which Whisperers give off. It's already gotten to the point where I can override Whisperer's commands and control the Pokemon instead of them. I haven't been able to do that with bonded Pokemon, and I don't know if I could harm a Whisperer with Pokemon because I don't want to harm Peter, Kyoto, Jackson, and Spade."

Ghetsis smirked, "How would you like to do another field experiment, doctor?"

"I'd like that very much," Colress replied immediately. "There's only so much you can do within the confines of the frigate."

"I have the perfect Whisperer for you to experiment on. You can go ahead and kill this one if you'd like. Just make sure that the press finds the body before the League does."

"Of course, my Lord," Colress said.

"Osamu, there's one last thing that I need you to do," Ghetsis said as he shifted his red eye to the Triad member. "I need you to make a house call to an estranged "daughter" of mine."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"This your first time being in Castelia City?" The taxi driver asked in his thick Unovan accent as he sped down the highway from the airport towards Castelia's towering city line.

"Yes," N lied. "I'm from Aspertia City so Castelia's pretty far away especially since there's no direct route there aside from taking a boat."

"What about you, sweetheart?" the cabbie asked as he glanced in his mirror to look over at Trixie who was staring silently out the window. Trixie just glanced over at the cabbie for a moment before returning to gazing out at the sandy desert and lone Maractus foraging for food.

"My friend, Tiffany, has social anxiety," N quickly explained. "She finds it very difficult to talk to people."

"That's too bad," the cabbie said. "I have a niece who's the same way. Always so shy and she's so afraid of talking to anyone. Even her own mother at times! Anyway, Castelia City's great. Everything you could possibly want can all be found in that city, but it's not the same as it used to be. You might find it hard to ask for directions if you get lost since everyone's jumpy and scared. We've got those Plasma idiots to thank for that."

"They've done terrible things to Unova," N said quietly.

The cabbie growled, "More than just terrible. They're wrecking our Region by terrorizing our citizens. The economy's in the gutter since all the tourists are too scared to come visit anymore. Nimbasa City has especially felt the drain since they basically run off of entertainment and tourism. Unova got its tail beat at the World Tournament because almost all the best competitors had their Pokemon stolen last summer and had to build new teams to even start competing. At least we're doing well in the Big Stadium, but that's about it."

"Hopefully the League puts an end to neo Team Plasma soon," N responded.

The cabbie snorted, "Yeah right. You know that Harmonia escaped right underneath the Champion's nose? Their Whisperers were broken out of a high-level security research facility while the Gym Leader was busy playing some loud rock music and didn't hear her phone go off. Striaton City's Gym was attacked, and the League could barely do anything about it. Next thing you know, Harmonia's bastard son is going to come back and ask for a rematch with the Champion. I still don't know how in the Distortion World the League was able to summon Reshiram and defeat that brat, but they haven't been able to pull out any tricks up their sleeves since then."

"Well, they beat them last year. I'm sure they will again," N said while Trixie clenched her fist in anger at what the cabbie had said about N.

"You're young, kid so you probably don't see what Team Plasma's doing, but this isn't some story written by some person on their computer that got inspired by a video game for kids. This is real life where the good doesn't always win. Team Plasma's ruining our economy, making people scared to go out on the streets, and the League hasn't been able to do anything about it. People are starting to get worried about their careers and their families."

"Team Plasma can't just scare people into submission," N said forcefully. "It'll always backfire since the people will fight against that government."

"Hate to break it to you kid," the cabbie quipped, "But it happens all the time. It used to be how the world worked. People lived in fear of the Pokemon so they turned to Whisperers to protect them, and in return they gave them power and status. I'm pretty sure the Alola Region still works on a Whisperer system where the leaders are chosen by the island guardians or something. Anyway, the people were afraid and so they turned over their freedom to someone that could protect them. That's the moral of the story."

"But neo Team Plasma is the one causing the problems. Why would-"

"You give them what they want, and they'll stop attacking and the cities will be safe again. I'm pretty sure Team Plasma was originally planning on being the only ones with Pokemon so that they could control people."

"Which is terrible. That's why it's great that they were stopped!" N insisted.

"Hey, I'm not arguing with you that they're terrible. I'd love it if the League could finally send all those Plasma cretins back to the Distortion World where they belong. I'm just saying that most people can't help but feel that the initial downfall of Team Plasma was just a false relief. I have some friends that've claimed Team Plasma's been in power ever since Ghetsis Harmonia got an official elected position in the government when Team Plasma was just some odd Pokemon lover group."

"Well he's been in jail for a year. Surely that must show that the League has some power."

"What power?" The cabbie asked sullenly. "If you ask me, it makes it worse that he's been in there for a year. Harmonia knew all the attacks coming which means he's been behind it all. He's been under strict League surveillance and yet he can still run a crime syndicate. It's disgusting."

Trixie glanced over at N and said, _"Remember, this was your stupid idea, not mine. I hope you see the error of your ways and decide to have this dumb cab driver turn around and take us back to the airport. Just think, Alola doesn't have an official League yet. That'd be amazing for us!"_

N ignored her and said, "Well, the United Regions would never acknowledge neo Team Plasma as head of government. Neo Team Plasma may blow up stuff, but they don't have any political hold anymore. They'll only ever be a terrorist group and I doubt they're strong enough to take down the League. As long as Unovans keep fighting, Team Plasma will never win."

"I hope you're right, kid," the cabbie said quietly. "I hope you're right."

Fortunately, the cabbie turned the topic to lighter topics such as what he was doing during his time in the Kalos Region and what he studied at the university. Soon enough, they were back in the city with its familiar sky rises and many windows that shimmered in the warm July sun. There were still tons of people thronging the streets as they busily chattered on their cell phones and speedily walked from one destination to the next. The streets were still congested with cars and buses honking at each other with occasional angry shouts from impatient drivers. However, as N watched the pedestrians walk down the street, he could see that something was different. Their eyes seemed to wearily shift back and forth as they walked down and almost none of them were smiling. There seemed to be an almost ominous and oppressive atmosphere of fear that hung thickly through the air of Castelia City.

The cabbie pulled up the taxie to the curb next to a large circular water fountain next to Castelia Park. N handed the cabbie some cash while the cabbie said, "Thanks, kid. It's been nice talking to you. Hope you enjoy your time in Castelia City."

N hopped out of the cab and stretched and shook his legs in relief as the cab pulled away. Trixie also shook herself and yawned before turning to him and saying, _"What's the plan? Why did you want to come here to Castelia City of all places?"_

"We're here to stop neo Team Plasma, Trixie. Team Plasma's headquarters used to be here for a reason since we… they used to have so many connections with politicians, celebrities, and, more importantly, underground informants. Castelia City makes more sense for neo Team Plasma to work in than places like Virbank or Driftveil since those cities and ports were almost always infested with other criminals like druggies or Team Rocket. This used to be Team Plasma turf, so it wouldn't be surprising if they reclaimed it."

Trixie sighed, _"Okay, so I'm guessing that it's time that we got in touch with some of our own personal informants."_

"Why do you think I asked the cabbie to stop here," N asked with a slight smile as he walked over to Castelia Park. They walked through the gates leading to the park and down a winding cement path that led through green leafy foliage and lofty beech trees. Eventually, they came to the more maintained area where there were flowers planted in certain patterns and families strolling through pathways that wove in and out of shrubbery that were trimmed to look like Pokemon. At the center was a large tree with branches that lifted loftily to the sky. From them, domesticated Aipom swung from the branches and rustled the bright green leaves. Next to the old tree was a plaque claiming this was the place Castelia City began.

More importantly, off to the side there was an old woman sitting on a bench close to where an artificial pond was. She was calmly sprinkling some Pokemon feed to the ground where a flock of Pidove were plucking it up and quickly leaned their heads back as they swallowed their food. N quietly approached closer to the woman on the bench, and one of the Pidove turned to stare at him. He heard the young Pidove ask, _"What does the Whisperer want?"_

Then another, gruffer voice said, _"That's not just any Whisperer, that's N."_

Suddenly all the Pidove turned to stare at him before scuttling close to him as they started to talk a mile a minute. _"I can't believe it's you!" "You won't believe all the Pokemon abuse that I've seen!" "There were some scary thugs being very mean to a poor Trubbish the other day." "I haven't seen Team Rocket." "We've missed you!"_

They all huddled close around his legs and even the Pidoves that didn't really know who he was came up to be near him. The older woman watched this and laughed, "The Pidove seem to like you, young man. Do you have something that they like?"

"Yes, ma'am. I do," N then pulled out his backpack and brought out a special bag full of Poke puffs specially made. The Pidoves all became even more excited as they begged him to give one to each of them.

N knelt down and held the bag as he focused on their eyes and projected his thoughts into their inner voices. 'Now these special treats are only for very special Pokemon who can find me information.'

"_You're basically asking for me,"_ the same gruff voice said. N looked up at an older Pidove with matted feathers and a chipped beak. He recognized the Pidove right away as an older Pokemon named Flutter. Flutter shoved through the crowd of Pidoves and made his way over to N. _"What do you want N? I'm guessing you don't want more information on Team Rocket or Pokemon abuse. I haven't seen your people on the streets ever since you disappeared."_

'You're right. I'm looking for neo Team Plasma. I don't know if you've seen them before, but they wear black and gray outfits and look kind of like-'

"_Pirates,"_ Flutter stated flatly._ "Yeah, I've seen them along the docks. Just because you're not here to ask me to snoop doesn't mean that I don't do it."_

N glanced at the rest of the Pidove and thought, 'Any of you that knows where neo Team Plasma is, please search for them and report back here at seven. The rest of you can go back to the old woman.' Several of the Pidove took off at that point while the remaining went back to the old woman, but Flutter stayed by his side. 'I need to speak to you in private,' N thought as he straightened and turned to walk back to the more secluded part of the park. He stepped into the overgrown ferns and away from the path. Flutter landed in front of him and looked at him expectantly. "I need you to tell the others about what we're doing. I don't want too many Pokemon involved to avoid suspicion, but we'll need several of our friends finding out what they're doing."

"_Yep. I'll tell Trish, Biter, and Ocean about you being back and wanting us to start our little spy ring again. It's so much fun spying on the humans."_

"There's one more thing," N said as he brought out two pokeballs which made the Pidove cock his head.

"_Wait, are you going to catch me?"_ Flutter asked. _"I thought you didn't do that type of thing."_

"I'm not going to catch you, but I have two new friends that I brought with me." N then released his Pokemon revealing a small Fletchling and a Dedenne. "This is Arrow, and this is Tanya. They're from the Kalos Region."

Flutter stared at them for a moment and said, _"They've got some weird colored Pidoves out there and why can't that little Emolga fly?"_

"They're different types of Pokemon," N explained. "They've been captured in a pokeball so they'll be able to understand human speech. I want you to take them with you when you investigate Team Plasma. Got it?"

"_Sure, I'll take your pampered pets along with me,"_ Flutter said harshly as he abruptly turned and hopped away.

Arrow turned to look at N, _"Well, he's thrilled to have us coming along."_

N quickly walked over to Flutter and reached out his hand to pet his head affectionately and say, "I know it's hard to work with captured Pokemon. I know you've had rough experiences with trainers that release you because…"

"_I'm too weak,"_ Flutter snarled. _"All three of my former trainers released me after two battles before they found another one that was a higher level than me."_

"I know it's hard, but-" N said as he reached out to touch the Pidove's feathers comfortingly, but Flutter turned around and pecked his hand.

"_You probably think the same thing about me,"_ Flutter said harshly. _"Which is why you captured them instead of me."_

"That's not true," N insisted. "I just want you to be free! I didn't want you to be a slave that was constantly subjected to battle. I wanted you to choose what you wanted to do and to be treated as an equal in human society."

Flutter rolled his eyes and scoffed, _"Treated as an equal? I've seen the way humans treat other humans. I'm not the only ones scrounging the streets for food and sleeping by the trash," _The Pidove then turned to fully glare at N,_ "Freedom comes at a price. Every day I get up and wonder if I'm going to be able to find any food. Some days I don't get any and other days I get a lot. I have to worry about predators and getting into fights with competing Pidove. I would give it all up in a heartbeat if a trainer would finally accept me and make sure I never went hungry again."_

"Flutter," N said in shock. "I had no idea you felt that way!"

"_That's because you never asked,"_ Flutter said sadly. _"You always just assumed that this was what we wanted. That all Pokemon wanted to be free and away from humans. Even when Biter told you a lot of Pokemon wanted trainers that would take care of them, you just assumed it was weak Pokemon that weren't yet ready to defend themselves."_ Flutter then sighed and said, _"I'm sorry, N. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you like that. I know you were just trying to help us, but it's just irritating to see you waltz back into the city with a couple of trained Pokemon and expect me to be okay with it. The others won't be too happy about it either, but I'm sure they'll get over it."_

Arrow and Tanya looked nervously at each other as they approached the sulking Pokemon. The Pidove snapped, _"Well come on, pets. Let's get moving."_ Tanya and Arrow looked nervously back at N who just nodded for them to go. Arrow then took to the sky while Flutter also rocketed upwards with the small Dedenne clinging to his matted feathers.

"_Well… that was interesting,"_ Trixie commented.

N sighed, "I knew a lot of them weren't happy in their situations, but I'd never thought they'd actually want to be captured."

"_Well he did say that freedom comes at a price,"_ Trixie said slowly.

"So does captivity," N said dryly. "You're always at someone else's beck and call. Never free to do what you want or be whatever you want. Constantly forced to battle on someone else's behalf."

"_Well, if it isn't a trainer, then it's the need to survive. Humans might not have trainers, but they almost always answer to someone else. A worker has to answer to a boss and do what they want so that they can have a home. People have to obey the law if they want to have security and not be sent to jail. No one's completely free."_

"Being a slave and being a worker are completely different. The worker can quit and get a new job if he doesn't like the old one. He also has the ability to one day become the boss," N said softly. "But I suppose you're right, Trixie. We all have something or someone that has power over our lives."

"_Speaking of which, I'm exhausted. The jet lag from travelling that far is really killing me. Let's find some place to sleep,"_ Trixie said with a yawn.

"Probably some shady motel that accepts cash and no ID… or out on the streets to save money. We can't go to a Pokemon Center or the League would be able to trace us too easily."

"_Hmm… the price of freedom."_

**A/N: The cabbie's name was Stan Lee**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

"This place is so disgusting," Bianca said while she wrinkled her nose and continued to walk with us down the grimy sewers of underground Castelia. There was a putrid smell of dung and garbage that was so strong it made my eyes water. It almost felt like I could taste the garbage in my mouth since the smell was so overwhelming. The stone walls were slick with mold and moss while Ratattas scurried along the ground. The grossest thing was watching the Rattatas lap up the sewer water which was an odd murky brown with odd fluorescent green laced through it while Zubats fluttered around the walls and ate the moss growing there.

Nightstar grumbled and began shifting uncomfortably on my shoulders in a way that I felt he was complaining about how filthy he was going to smell when we got out. He then jumped into my arms and looked at me accusingly for bringing him into such a rancid and disgusting place. "Hey, don't look at me. This was Rosa's brilliant idea."

"That's because there are so many Trubbish here. Scientists think that they're manmade since they're literally walking, breathing pieces of trash. It'd be interesting to see if they're as intelligent and how they interact with more natural Pokemon like Rattatas," Rosa said defensively.

"I say we find these Trubbish as fast as possible and then go back to town where we buy some Casteliacones. How does that sound?" Bianca piped up.

"Great. As long as we get to take nice long baths afterwards," I said thinking about poor Nightstar and how he preferred his coat to be nice and clean.

We turned and walked along the damp sewer floors. It was completely quiet except the continual drip from the leaking pipes above and the padding of our feet against the stone walkways. We had been walking for a while and had only seen a bunch Rattatas and Grimers lurking on the ground. We were just coming around a bend when Bianca whispered, "Look over there."

Clustered by some litter scattered on the floor was what looked like a trash bag with a pair of eyes on it. The Trubbish's eyes rested on mine and it started waddling towards us which made Bianca whisper, "Put your glasses on. Let's see what it'll do without a Whisperer around." I then slipped on my glasses as Rosa and Bianca pulled out their recording devices to quietly observe the Pokemon. The Trubbish blinked at me in confusion before scuttling back to where it had been originally amidst the real trash. It then closed its eyes and disguised itself as a normal trash bag. After some time of watching the small Trubbish sit completely still, we watched a Rattata hesitantly come up to the trash and begin snuffling around in search of food. When it came up to the Trubbish, its long nose quivered slightly as it came closer to look inside the perceived bag of trash. Suddenly, the Trubbish moved to grab the Rattata close to it and bury it's face in its plastic body before it began squeezing it. The little purple Rattata began to flail its arms and legs uncontrollably, but the Trubbish injected it with poison which caused it to move more lethargically.

At this point, I couldn't take it anymore, so I ripped off my glasses and said, "Hey! Leave the Rattata alone!" The Trubbish looked up at me and obediently loosened its grip on the Rattata who then coughed and gagged before attempting to scurry away only to keel over from the poison. Bianca and I quickly walked over to the two Pokemon and Bianca gave the Rattata an antidote while I slipped some pokefood to the Trubbish to compensate it for losing its dinner.

"Well, that was about to get disturbing," Rosa commented. "I mean, I know that's what happens in nature, but it's different when you see it actually happen."

"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't lose my dinner from watching the Trubbish eat his," Bianca replied.

"Look at the data we recorded though," Rosa said happily. "Pokemon like Rattata aren't that intelligent, but it's surprising to see how intelligent Trubbish are. I mean, look at the way it hid and attacked its enemy. Trubbish are actually highly intelligent in spite of the fact that it's literally a living piece of garbage."

I was watching the Trubbish closely during this time and I noticed hurt flicker in its eyes. "Hey, I think it understood that." I gazed intently into the Trubbish's eyes and said, "I-I think it must be really hard to be a Trubbish. It knows all humans hate it because they think it's disgusting which means they have to hide and fight hard to survive. I think this Trubbish is very lonely."

"The poor Pokemon," Bianca cried out. To my surprise, she pulled out a pokeball and said, "Hey buddy, do you want to come with me? You'll never have to eat Rattata again. All my Pokemon eat with me at my table and they eat scrumptious pokefood!" I watched as the little Trubbish's eyes lit up with hope and disbelief. It eagerly squeaked what I imagine was a yes. Bianca pressed the pokeball against the Trubbish and a red light encapsulated the small green Pokemon, and the pokeball clicked signifying its capture without it even shaking.

"That was really nice of you Bianca, but you know that's just one Trubbish in a thousand," Rosa said as she came over to us.

"Yeah, but it makes a difference to this one," Bianca said softly as she attached her pokeball to her belt. "I think I'm going to name it… Richie. That was the name of our school janitor remember Ivory?"

"Um…yeah?" I honestly couldn't remember. I didn't have Bianca's crazy memory when it came to names and people.

"Anyway, let's get out of here," Bianca said. "This place is just too gross."

We started walking back together while Bianca talked about how interesting it was that Richie could understand them before he was caught which made her wonder if human formed Pokemon could understand humans more than natural ones. As she was explaining her latest theory on Pokemon speech patterns, I felt my skin prickle as if something were watching me. I glanced behind me and saw a small orange and black rodent-like creature crouched low to the wall. 'It's so cute! Kind of like an Emolga, but different,' I thought ecstatically. I gave it a little wave, and it excitedly waved back. I was about to tell Rosa and Bianca about the cute Pokemon, but I got the impression that it was trying to stay hidden. I smiled at the Pokemon one last time before I caught up with the others and headed to the exit the Castelia Sewers.

Rosa had started to ask us what flavor of ice cream we wanted when we got Casteliacones when we rounded the final corner where the stairs leading to Thumb Pier was. I felt my blood run cold as I laid eyes on a pair of neo Team Plasma members standing at the base of the stairs. Bianca screamed and hid behind me as I paled and momentarily stepped back in fear. I was very aware that we were alone down here in these sewers with no one else around. Rosa stood protectively in front of us and said, "What are you doing here? Going back home to the trash and filth where you belong?"

"Time and place, Rosa," I heard Bianca mumble fearfully from behind me. "Maybe it's best not to insult a pair of terrorists!"

The men just chuckled, and one said, "You kids should really be a lot more careful about where you go. I mean, no one will be able to hear your screams from the sewers. That's perfect for us."

They then sent out their two Pokemon, a Gurdurr and a Stoutland, while Nightstar and I stepped aggressively forward. "Are you two dumb enough to think that you can really take down a Whisperer," I growled as Nightstar began to spark dangerously. "I guess neo Team Plasma has to really scrape the barrel for new recruits."

"Oh, we know what we're dealing with, Greystorm," I heard a woman say from behind me. I whipped around and saw that two more neo Team Plasma members had come around and effectively blocked off our escape. I felt my heart drop as I recognized the distinct red hair and cold glares. Alex and Jenna.

They then sent out their own Pokemon, an Embroar and a Weavile. Jenna said tauntingly, "Go ahead, Ivory. Try to turn our Pokemon against us."

I felt a slight chill run through me, but I did as they said and tried to turn their Pokemon against them. I looked deeply into their eyes and tried to connect with them as I did other Pokemon, but this time, I felt as if I was trying to push through an imaginary wall between myself and the Pokemon. They, in turn, stared at me haughtily and stayed loyally by Jenna and Alex's side. I turned to the other Plasma members and tried to do the same with their Gurdurr and Stoutland, but nothing happened. By this point Bianca was clinging desperately to me and asking, "What's wrong, Ivory? Why's it not working?"

"I-I don't know. It doesn't even feel like there's another Whisperer here… it just feels like I'm pushing against a wall."

Jenna chuckled and said, "Unfortunately for you, Team Plasma's been able to create a device that override's a Whisperer's influence."

"We'll just settle this by Pokemon battle then," Rosa said determinedly as she sent out Ila. "Winner gets out of here while the losers get arrested."

"Do you really think that you can take all four of us down," Alex said skeptically.

Rosa chuckled darkly, "Definitely." She then placed her hand lightly on her visor and her hand on her hip which I now recognized as her signature fighting stance. She then said, "I could take you on any day. Ready for battle when you are."

'Where does she get all this confidence?' I wondered. She honestly reminded me of Black whenever he battled. He never once questioned whether he'd be able to win, and he gave his all during each and every battle. Bianca, on the other hand, did not have as much confidence, and she fumbled with her pokeball as she hesitantly sent out Moon.

Jenna then said, "Serperior, use bind on your trainer." To my horror, Ila immediately wrapped around Rosa which caught her off guard as her lips parted in surprise.

"Musharna use psybeam on your trainer," Alex ordered. Bianca screamed as Moon turned around and sent a pulse of energy in Bianca's direction. I knocked Bianca out of the way who was just standing there like a Deerling in front of headlights when Nightstar jumped up and attacked Moon with bite. The energy beam from Moon's psybeam crashed into the Gurdurr causing him to cry out in pain. I realized with horror that the attack was strong enough that if it had hit Bianca, it would have killed her.

"Did we forget to mention that our device can also use the same power Whisperer's use to command Pokemon," Jenna asked sassily. "Oops, my bad."

I cried out in panic, "Nightstar attack them and stop them!" Nightstar jumped and powered a strong electric attack and sent out a powerful discharge which hit us all. I cried out in pain as I felt the electricity hit me, but the Embroar and Weavile got the worst of it.

"Embroar," Alex said weakly from the ground where he had collapsed after the huge shock, "Use fire punch on that stupid Shinx."

Embroar powered up an attack, but Nightstar deftly shot out of the line of the attack as it jumped onto the Embroar and sent out another pulse of electricity which caused the Embroar to cry out in pain. I was amazed by how strong Nightstar was, and I was glad that he at least hadn't turned on us.

Jenna then said, "Weavile, use slash on the Whisperer. Kill her." I screamed and backed away as the Weavile immediately sprang to attack me, but just as the Weavile's talons were about to hit me, it stopped. It looked at me for a moment, and I could see a flicker of concern. It then turned back to Jenna and actually shook its head. Jenna sighed, "Too bad. I've been hoping to see you die ever since what you did to us at Plasma mansion last year."

A huge wave of electricity came down on the Weavile as Nightstar descended from off of the now fainted Embroar and viciously tore into the stunned Weavile. He attacked into the Weavile until it lay still before moving to attack Moon again who had begun to power up another attack after using moonlight. Nightstar had leapt over to Moon, but midair, the Plasma member's Gurdurr smacked him with his girder and sent him flying across the sewers like a ball hit by a baseball bat. Nightstar slammed into the wall on the far side of the sewer with such force that he cracked the bricks and then limply fell to the mucky ground.

"Nightstar!" I screamed as I sprung to my feet. I pushed past Moon and Ila who still had Rosa wrapped up with her sleek, green body and towards the area where Nightstar had fallen in the water, but Alex caught me and threw me to the ground.

"You're not going anywhere," Alex hissed. "It's about time you find out what happens to the people who get in Team Plasma's way."

"Ivory!" Bianca and Rosa screamed as Alex and Jenna approached me dangerously.

"NENE! DENE!" I heard something squeak excitedly from the floor. I looked and saw that it was the small Dedenne I had seen earlier. It looked scared, but at the same time ready to fight.

"What in the Di-" Jenna asked before the little Dedenne rubbed its cheeks and sent out an electrical shock on both of them.

"Jasper use vine whip," I heard someone call. Suddenly two vines wrapped around Jenna and Alex's torsos and brought them up into the air and slammed them together before dropping them to the ground. I looked up shakily from the ground to the figure that had been standing behind them. In front of me I saw a boy that looked to be about my age with spiky brown hair that flowed over his red Pokemon visor. He was in blue and gray, had a bag slung behind his shoulder, and some pokeballs fastened to his belt. His face was slightly red, and he was panting a little. Beside him was a small green and brown Pokemon that I recognized as a Chespin. Also next to him was a girl with shoulder-length pink hair who also looked slightly out of breath.

"Get away from them," he yelled with such force that Ila recoiled and released Rosa while Moon hovered away from where we were, and the Gurrdur and Stoutland quickly backed up into their trainers.

Alex and Jenna shakily got up from the floor as the boy sent out more of his Pokemon that all appeared to be from the Kalos Region. Their eyes widened as they glanced around the sewers. That's when I noticed that there were dozens of Muk staring up at them from the waters while a couple of Zubats had come to flutter around the corner. Alex and Jenna quickly recalled their Pokemon before turning and glaring at the boy who looked like he was prepared to fight. Alex hissed, "This isn't over," as he threw down a smoke ball and covering the entire area with thick smog. I coughed and gagged as I heard Alex and Jenna's boots stomp beside me, the sound of more Pokemon being returned, and the sound of the door to Thumb pier opening and shutting.

"Arrow, use gust," I heard a familiar voice say. Now that there was smoke everywhere preventing me from seeing the boy, I recognized his voice. The same melodic, soft voice that I'd heard all last summer. The same one I'd been dreaming about.

I felt a blast of wind which blew the smoke away until the sewers were clear and even the putrid smell had dissipated a little. "Are you alright?" I heard his voice ask fearfully as I felt his soft hands reach for my shoulders and gently lift my chin to look at him. I saw his beautiful blue-gray eyes that I would know from anywhere.

The soft curve of his cheeks, his pointed nose, and especially his gentle smile as he looked at me. His forehead was slightly wrinkled with worry, but that quickly changed as I smiled back at him. "You saved me. You saved Bianca and Rosa. Thank you." Then on an impulse I reached up and hugged him which caused him to stiffen in surprise. "Thank you," I whispered in his ear, "N."

**Side note: N ditched his contacts that made his eye color turn brown from the Kalos Region because he's going to need full access to his Whisperer powers… unfortunately for him that makes him a lot more recognizable. (Sorry for the explanation in the Author's Notes, but I had no idea how to write that into the story)**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

_"Take him," Lady Melody whispered, tears streaking down her lovely face as she handed a small boy with green hair over to Concordia. "Keep him safe from his father."_

_ They were all standing in a small circular glade by Discordian Wood in the early months of spring. The trees were still dead and with only hints of green beginning to bud while the dry, brown blades of grass had begun to take on a slightly greenish tint. Concordia took N, who was sobbing uncontrollably and screaming for his mother, and nodded solemnly. Anthea looked at the adults in confusion. She couldn't understand what was happening or why they were running, but she knew she was afraid._

_ Her mother, Rhea, came up to them and said, "Remember. You're bonded to him now. You must protect him even at the cost of your own lives… or me and Melody's. The Litwick and Chandelure that live in Discordian Wood should let you live peacefully without attacking now that you're bonded and can speak to them."_

_ Concordia tried hard to look brave, "But mother, what will we do? Will we stay in Discordian Wood? I-I don't know how to hunt or gather berries! I-I-"_

_ "Ask the Pokemon for help," Rhea told her. "They'll teach you and help you find things when you're in need. Try to save up money to buy a passage to the Sinnoh Region like we… tried to do. The three of you must return home to Sinnoh and back to Eterna Forest where the Celestas are."_

_ "What about you, mother? What about Lady Melody?" Anthea piped up as she clung to her big sister's hand. "We can't leave you. I don't understand what's happening to us!"_

_ Rhea knelt down next to Anthea and ruffled her hair, "I know this is scary. I know that this is a lot of responsibility to put on a nine-year-old and a sixteen-year-old. I should have explained more about what it means to be a guardian, but I never thought you two would be-"_

_ "Rhea," Lady Melody said suddenly. "They're here." Lady Melody was looking back at the entrance of the glade where several Team Plasma members had appeared. She then turned back and kissed little N on the forehead and said, "Mommy loves you very much, little N. Listen to Concordia and Anthea. I love you."_

_ "I love you too, mommy," N said in his small voice. _

_Rhea then whipped out her small rod which expanded to a fighting stick while she brought out a couple of her Pokemon. She glanced back at the three children and said, "Run. Now."_

_Concordia then spun around and sprinted as fast as she could towards Discordian Wood as she dragged Anthea along who desperately tried to have her short legs match Concordia's long strides. That's when the image of the glade began to blur a little and fracture as she saw herself both running through the dry grass and down the carpeted hallways of the darkened Plasma mansion. The Plasma members sent out their Pokemon to stop them escaping as N cried out in fear and buried his face in Concordia's shoulder like what had actually had happened, but the Plasma members were dressed in their neo Team Plasma outfits instead of their knight uniforms they had been wearing that day._

_The memory continued to fracture as the Plasma members began to laugh sadistically as their Pokemon began to rip apart Grace and Angela in a gruesome mirage of blood. Anthea screamed as she found her body had shifted from a child to her adult shape. "Anthea! Help me!" Anthea heard N's voice call from behind her. Anthea turned and saw the now teenage N struggling against the Shadow Triad. One of his hands broke free from one of the Triad's grip and he reached out desperately for Anthea. Anthea knew that if she just reached out, she would be able to take his hand. Anthea stared at his hand momentarily before she folded her hands to her chest. She saw the look of hurt and betrayal in N's eyes before the Shadow Triad teleported him away._

_The dream began to deteriorate more as it seemed the very backdrop of the glade began to disintegrate into a black oblivion. Anthea screamed in terror, but then she saw a glowing blue eye staring directly at her. "Anthea," a different voice called. "Anthea, this is just a nightmare your mind has formed since your bond is slowly breaking."_

_Anthea whipped around and saw a young man with dark brown hair and stormy blue eyes. He was dressed in an old-fashioned buttoned vest, cape, and hat while at the same time faintly glowing an almost whitish hue. Behind him was Cresselia and next to him was Concordia who was looking at her worriedly. "Anthea… trying to reach… you… a while," was all Anthea could hear from the young man. It felt like he was talking through a radio with a lot of static._

_Concordia tried to grab Anthea's hand, but it phased through her skin. Concordia desperately said, "Stop… fighting this… home… Celestas… N… need… help," however her voice began to break up more as the dream broke down even more. Soon darkness encompassed everything, and Concordia's voice was nothing more than a blurred background noise._

Anthea gasped as her eyes flew open and she sat bolt up in her bed. Cold sweat dampened her forehead which intermingled with the salty tears that had smeared her cheeks during her nightmare. Anthea glanced around her bedroom which was still light with the evening glow filtering through her windows. She glanced down at the book she had been reading which had been haphazardly thrown to the side when she had awoken. She checked her phone on her night table and saw that it only about ten in the evening. She also saw she had over a dozen texts and missed calls from her sister.

She turned away from them and lay back down again, breathing heavily and shaking slightly from her most recent nightmare. All her dreams had been in the forms of memories around N with each of them ending with him begging her for her help. At first, she had, but then the neo Team Plasma members had all started attacking them. Then there was the strange ending with the young man and Concordia. They'd started appearing more frequently recently and their voices were becoming slightly more distinct.

Anthea placed her hand on her racing heart. It was strange to feel it pumping so fast when it felt like her heart had stopped and was breaking in two. The pain had only gotten worse as time had gone on until most days it was unbearable. It had started about four days ago which was when she had begun to think nonstop about N and how she could contact him. She knew he was in danger and needed her help which made every instinct inside of her scream that she needed to leave everything and go find him. It was strange because all the years while at the Plasma mansion, she worried about him, but it had never been painful. It was almost like whatever power connected her to N understood that she was incapable of helping at the time.

'Is this what mother felt when she decided to leave the Celestas in search of Lady Melody?' Anthea wondered as she thought about the long years looking through different Regions for a woman Anthea hadn't really known at the time. When they had finally found Lady Melody in Unova, Melody hadn't been very happy to see them and hadn't wanted to go back home with them. Anthea remembered feeling confused by this and a little irritated because she had thought she would finally be able to return to a stable home. 'Am I expected to also just travel around the Regions until I find N?' Anthea thought with frustration. 'And then what? He's just going to be fine going with me back to some isolated group of people that are cut off from the rest of society. He'd probably be like Lady Melody and refuse. Then I'd be stuck there with him… and without Cilan.'

As a child, she'd been told all the ancient myths about Celestas and how they still existed and that they were Celestas as well. She remembered tales of the ancient past when the royal family had ruled by summoning the gods and goddesses to protect and watch over them. The Celestas had been the ones that lived in their courts over the Regions. Most of them had been blessed by Arceus to have special powers and were tasked with the responsibility of being the caretakers of the earth and the bridge between humans and Pokemon while the royal family served as a bridge between the Legendaries and humans. 'Too bad the royal family got greedy for power and destroyed most of the Regions by attacking each other,' Anthea thought bitterly. 'It's a good thing Arceus banished them to the Sinnoh Region in Eterna Forest. The world's a better place without them in it.'

It was strange, even though she knew the Celestas existed and that it was all true, a part of her resented her heritage. It seemed like so much pain could be avoided if they just broke tradition and tried to live normal lives. 'Forget cool special powers,' Anthea thought cynically. 'People will just try to use it for their own gain.'

'Cilan's probably still up… it's only ten,' Anthea thought as she dialed his number. "Hello, sweet scent. How can I be of service to you this lovely evening?" Cilan asked lightly.

Anthea laughed at this and said, "Still waiting tables for your restaurant?"

"Is it that obvious?" Cilan chuckled, "But seriously, are you alright? You don't usually call during this time."

"I… had another nightmare," Anthea said slowly. "I've been trying the prescribed Dream Mist, and that does help make the nightmares less vivid, but they're still coming. It feels like they're becoming more and more real with each passing night."

"Have you talked to Concordia about this?" Cilan asked. "I know that you were upset with her after the whole Striation attack, but you need to talk to her again. She probably knows more than we do."

Anthea bit her lip angrily and said, "I know she probably does Cilan… but… I'm still mad at her for what she said. You know how I told you she said that the attack was proof that I needed to come back to Sinnoh and help her find N. She didn't even ask me how I was doing or how I felt about anything! She doesn't care about what you and I have or that I don't want to be a part of Celesta society. I don't want to talk to her."

"Anthea, Concordia's your sister and she loves you. I'm sure she wants what's best for you-"

"All she'll tell me is that love is sacrifice," Anthea said bitterly. "She'll think that I'll need to give up my entire life for my duty. I just wish they'd all go away. Concordia, N… neo Team Plasma… all of them. I want to start living my own life."

"I understand that Anthea, and I respect that decision," Cilan insisted, "But you have to remember that she probably has answers we don't have."

Anthea bit her lip and said, "Maybe… but I… know what she's going to say. Cilan, I know what's wrong with me."

"Then tell me so that I'll know how we can stop it."

Suddenly Anthea felt a sudden chill sweep through every inch of her body as her hands began to shake uncontrollably. "Cilan, so-something's wrong," Anthea looked wildly around her until her eyes rested on a shadowy figure standing by her curtains. Anthea screamed and yelled, "It's them! It's the Shadow Triad!"

As quick as a shadow, Osamu leapt up onto her bed and yanked the phone from her grasp and caught her wrist from fumbling to reach Angela's pokeball. Osamu promptly shattered the phone against her bedroom wall and hissed at Anthea, "Master Ghetsis wishes to speak with you," before teleporting away with her.

* * *

"Bianca! Bianca, you're okay!" I said to Bianca's huddled figure that was curled against the wall with her face in her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. "They're gone, Bianca. They ran away."

She still sobbed into her hands as Rosa placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Bianca, you need to calm down. We have to get out of these sewers. Think about nice warm showers and Casteliacones! We can't do any of that in here."

Nightstar, who N had retrieved with his Greninja, came up to Bianca and placed his paw on her affectionately and licked her arm in an attempt to comfort her. Finally, N said, "Bianca, what's wrong?"

"WHAT'S WRONG! What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?" Bianca asked shrilly. "We almost died, that's what's wrong. Are none of you terrified of what you just saw."

"Don't get me wrong, I was scared too, but the other times we saw neo Team Plasma, you were fine. I mean you were scared, but you didn't break down like this," Rosa said.

"That's because I didn't think they were going to kill me," Bianca sobbed. "Do you know that this will be my third time Team Plasma's tried to kill me?"

N looked down in shame while Rosa looked confused, "Um… no. You just said that you ran into Team Plasma a lot on your journeys last year. You didn't even say if you were involved with fighting against Team Plasma during their take over."

"Bianca," I said softly. "I know that this is awful but sitting around doing nothing is worse. They might come back. We have to go."

Bianca cried a little more before shakily nodding her head. N and I helped her onto her feet where she then hugged me. I knew Bianca had had nightmares from Plasma mansion when we had all almost been killed by Ghetsis, but I hadn't realized how bad it was. 'She's just like me,' I thought to myself. 'She keeps it in and acts all cheery until she can't hold it in anymore.'

I glanced over at N who was still looking sadly at the grimy sewer ground and said, "How did you find us? We were… we weren't going to make it if you hadn't come by. I'm sure Alex and Jenna would have-"

"I know. They wouldn't have hesitated. The Shadow Triad aren't the only assassins on Team Plasma's pay roll," N said so quietly that only I could hear. "Tanya was the one that had seen that you were in trouble," N said gesturing to the small Dedenne perched on his shoulder. "She ran all the way to Castelia Park, which is weirdly connected to the sewers, and told me about what was happening. I came as quickly as I could once I found out."

"Well, I'm glad you did," I whispered back.

"Could we please get out of this place?" Rosa then asked. "This place is so disgusting, and I'm pretty sure I've lost my sense of smell."

"Let's go," N said as he led us up the stairs and out onto Thumb Pier and into the salty air where the Wingull cried out to each other. We walked along the Pier for a while in silence as Bianca finally settled down.

Finally, Bianca said, "We have to tell the League about what happened. They need to know about the device that make Whisperer's powers go all wonky, and that Alex and Jenna are here."

I glanced nervously over at N who had tensed up at the mention of the League when Rosa asked, "Well… how are we going to explain those two?" She pointed at N and Trixie who had both stopped walking to turn to look at us.

"Um… what do you mean, Rosa?" Bianca asked blankly.

Rosa stared at her for a moment before saying, "I mean that he was able to command his Pokemon and they could turn our Pokemon against the device or whatever." Rosa then looked at N and Trixie and said, "You have to either be a super powerful trainer… or one of you is a super powerful Whisperer." She cocked her head and said, "Who are you?"

"Um… I'm Nate Anderson from Aspertia City, and my friend here is Tiffany. She doesn't talk much since she's pretty shy," N said quickly introducing himself and Trixie.

"Nate?" Rosa asked in surprise. "Oh my Arceus! It's me, Rosa! We used to be next-door neighbors before you disappeared a while back, remember?"

N looked slightly flustered as he said, "Yes. Rosa. Um… you've changed since I last saw you."

"That's because I was still just a kid when you left on your journey," Rosa said simply. "You don't look that much older than when you last left. Did Xerneas give you immortality or something? Anyway, that still doesn't explain how you were able to do all that."

N sighed and said, "I can't give you all the details, but I've been training my Pokemon for a while now so that they can resist any outside influence whether it be from a Whisperer or some sort of device."

"Wait… are you a Pokemon Master?" Biacna asked. "I know that's part of what they train for."

"Um… yes," N said slowly. "I'm a Pokemon Master, but I'm undercover. I was actually out looking for neo Team Plasma when I ran across you three."

"Just like what Black and Cheren are doing," Bianca said enthusiastically. "You really should meet up with them and spy together."

"Yes, well… I'll tell the League about what you saw. You three can go home which would probably be for the best since it's getting late." I glanced around at our surroundings and noticed that the evening sun had dipped below the horizon along with its streaks of orange and pink leaving Castelia in a darker, overcast, hazy gray light. We had been walking through the deserted warehouses and storage units for a while, but the main street was still a little ways away.

"Aren't you two going to come with us?" Rosa asked innocently.

N shook his head and said, "No. We're going to check out Thumb Pier for a little while longer. Those four might still be around here somewhere. I'm glad you three are safe, but Tiffany and I will take it from here."

"Okay. Thank you again for saving us," Bianca said sincerely. "We wouldn't be alive without you. Thanks." Bianca and Rosa then began to walk towards the main street, but I stayed glued to the spot, my eyes focused on N. Bianca turned and said, "Aren't you coming, Ivory?"

I shook my head and said, "No. I need to talk to… Nate… for a minute."

"Okay, but Nate should probably drop you off by my apartment since you shouldn't be wandering around the streets by yourself."

"I'll make sure she's safe," N promised. "You two take care of yourselves, especially you, Bianca."

Bianca blushed a little before nodding quickly and walking towards the main street with Rosa by her side. I waited until they were out of earshot when I turned to N and grabbed his hand to bring him to the side of the warehouse where the shadows covered us. I stopped and breathed deeply as I looked out across the bay where the light shifted off the waves and a small dingy bobbed in the water. I took another deep breath as I tried to get a hold of my emotions which seemed all jumbled up in one big tangled mess.

I wasn't sure what I was feeling when I finally turned to face N who was standing a few feet from me in the shadows next to Trixie who had transformed back into her Pokemon self. He was watching me somberly and with a slightly guarded expression. I realized that he also was just as confused about what he felt as I was. I slowly walked towards him, and I watched as his body tensed when I got near him as if he were bracing for an attack.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly which caused his body to go completely rigid. "N," I whispered. "Thank you for saving me… but, why are you here? I-I-" I then felt a sudden surge of emotion course through me as the night from when he left came flooding back to me. I saw him standing there in the ruined throne room telling me he was sorry as he used an Abra to teleport away. I felt all the raw emotion of anger, hurt, and betrayal from when he left as clearly and distinctly as if it had happened yesterday. A part of me wanted to slap him for abandoning me and Unova for an entire year just so he could avoid the consequences of what he'd done. At the same time, I wanted to kiss him for saving my life in the sewers and coming back at all. Then, I felt a slight tug of fear and worry for him since he was here and so close to neo Team Plasma. A group of terrorists and murderers who hated him more than anyone else did.

As all these emotions swept over me like a tidal wave, my body began to quiver and shake as I began to cry. I didn't know what to say so I just held him and relished in the feeling of him also wrapping his arms around me. It felt so natural and right to finally be in his arms again. It almost made the year of us being apart seem like nothing, and in this moment, I felt like I was home and somewhere warm and safe. "I've missed you," I whispered in his ear. "I love you."

N then tensed again, and he stopped caressing my hair as he pulled from our embrace. I saw from the way he quickly wiped his eyes that he too had been crying during our hug. Our eyes met as he gently slid one of his hands down my tear-stained cheek as he whispered, "I love you too, Ivory. You don't know how much I do. I-I don't think I knew either until Tanya had come and told me there was a Whisperer in danger and I automatically thought it was you. I was so worried I wouldn't get there in time, and when I saw you again for the first time… I knew I couldn't let anything bad happen to you." He then looked away as he said, "I'll admit I was worried you hate me for what I did to you last summer."

"I could never hate you, N," I said as I leaned my head against his chest. "Maybe I'm a little angry and annoyed at what happened, but I also get why you did it. Your entire life just fell apart in front of you. Everything you had worked for ended, your dad turning out to be a jerk, and the League wanting to arrest you. I'd want to run from it all too if I were you. I… still don't think it was the best decision, but I understand where you were coming from."

N then stepped back from me and pulled my arms from around his waist where he then moved them back to my sides. He took another step back as he looked at me distantly and said, "Ivory, there's a reason I left. I love you, but you and I will never work. You're right to think that I left to come to terms with what had happened, but I also left so that we could both get new lives. If I stayed, the League would have most likely forced me to give a public apology before sending me to a different Region where I'd live the rest of my days as a lab Rattata so that I could be closely monitored and used for their own purposes."

"I would've gone with you," I said quietly. "You know that don't you? I would have gone to whatever Region they sent you. I wouldn't have given up on us."

N looked at me sadly as he said, "I know. It's one of the reasons I left. Ivory, you have family and friends. You have a home. I… don't have anything to offer you. If you stayed with me while I worked for the League, you'd also be monitored… and… and we'd probably would have married."

I smiled slightly as I said, "I'd hope so." I reached to gently touch his arm, but he quickly stepped back before he continued.

"I couldn't bare the thought of you being tarnished by the name Harmonia. Everyone would know that you were married to the man who almost tried to take over the Unova Region."

"I'm not ashamed of you or my love for you," I said angrily.

"I would be," N said quietly. "Ivory, I'd cause contention in your home and among your friends. I know Black and Bianca are fine with me, but what about your other friend… Cheren. What about your parents? What about Professor Juniper? Not to mention the problems with my own family. I… I… don't know how Concordia and Anthea feel about me, and Concordia…,"

"Never liked me," I said resignedly. "I know. You don't even have to mention your psycho dad. That guy literally just tried to kill me."

N sighed again and said, "Ivory, I came back to the Unova Region to stop my father and neo Team Plasma once and for all. I came back to stop them from hurting you, Bianca, or Black. I didn't come back to start a relationship that will never work." N then looked at me determinedly, "I'll stop neo Team Plasma no matter the cost. You'll be able to have a good life then."

I huffed and balled my fists as I growled, "Don't you dare give me all this self-sacrificing Tauros crap. Don't act like you know what's best for me because you clearly don't. N what don't you understand when I say that I love you? I love you, and I don't care that we're not 'compatible' or that your family's screwed up. I don't care if my name is tarnished. I don't care. I want to be with you because I love you."

"Love comes and goes," N said bitterly. "You'll fall in love with someone else."

"No!" I finally yelled. I ground my teeth and returned to a whisper, "Stop this. I know we're only sixteen, but I don't think I'll ever feel the same way about someone else like I do about you. If I leave you now, I know that I will always regret that decision." I looked at him and said, "I know that you'll keep loving me too. I know you won't move on either. It wouldn't be right of me to marry another man and pretend that you never existed when I'll always secretly be in love with you." I finally moved forward and grabbed both his hands firmly in my own to keep him in place as I looked him straight in the eyes, "I love you, and I'm not leaving you even if you leave me."

N opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly closed it when he couldn't think of a response. He looked at the ground and said nothing instead. I breathed deeply as I said, "Okay, so you're back to fight neo Team Plasma… then why don't you let me help you? Again, don't give me that self-sacrificing Tauros crap because I'm already in danger even with you not around."

N looked at me seriously and said, "You'd be in even more danger with me around."

"I know, but I don't care. You're forgetting that neo Team Plasma's made all our lives miserable. I want to stop them just as much as you do. Have you… thought about turning yourself into the League? I know you don't want to, but they might be the best option to fight neo Team Plasma."

N shook his head and said, "No. I'm not going to turn myself in. I'll rely on the Pokemon to help find them."

"Well… Black works with the League… maybe I could find something out from him. We could get League information without working with them and then you and I could go together against them. Come on, you know this is better than just working with the Pokemon. Two Whisperers are better than one."

N bit his lip as he considered what I was saying. He looked at me as he said, "That might work… and believe it or not, I really do think you're capable of helping. It's just…"

"You don't want me to get hurt," I said while rolling my eyes. "Neo Team Plasma is going to hurt me anyways. Whether it's now or sometime in the future. They have to be stopped, and it's about time that I do something. Everyone expects me to sit around and do nothing… well to the Distortion World with that. Neo Team Plasma's got another thing coming if they think they can mess with me, my family, my friends, Unova, or," I added as I pulled close to N and gently stroked his brown hair, "My boyfriend."

N gave me a ghost of a smile before it faded and he said, "Well… I am a boy and I am your friend-"

I smacked him on the shoulder and said angrily, "Don't put me in the friendzone. We've already broken up before and it sucked."

N looked at me seriously, "This could all end badly… we might be able to stop some of neo Team Plasma's operations, but… if worst comes to worst… Ivory, I'm going to make sure neo Team Plasma never uses me again."

I felt a slight chill run through me as he said this, and I asked slowly, "What do you mean?"

"I mean if anything happens… I'm… you just have to promise you'll move on."

"N… what are you planning."

"Let's just say it's a fail safe I've planned," N said softly. "It'll ensure that neo Team Plasma never wins."

I hugged him tightly against me as I felt myself go cold with worry and dread. I wanted to ask more, but a part of me already knew what he was talking about. I shivered slightly as I breathed deeply and whispered, "Well… at least we have this time together right now. We're here… we're safe… we're together." He returned my hug as I continued, "Life is too short to live in denial or really living. I don't care if you'll be here today and you're gone the next. All I care about is that you're here with me right now."

I then went up on my toes and kissed him. I felt his warm lips pressed against mine as he returned the kiss with equal measure.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Anthea felt her body materialize once more as she fell to her knees. "I brought her as you requested, Master," Anthea heard Osamu's cold, indifferent voice say as he again teleported away. Anthea wearily raised her head and glanced around at her surroundings. She was in an office made of metallic walls and dark black carpet. In front of her was an obsidian desk stacked with papers and arranged in an orderly fashion. In the seat in front of her was Ghetsis. He still had his familiar green hair that was brushed smoothly back aside from the three strands of hair that stuck out from his head. He still had his red eyepatch, but now he was dressed all in black aside from his gold cuffs around his wrists and collar.

However, this time, there was no air of familiarity or slight friendliness Ghetsis would sometimes exude when he was around her. Anthea knew that Ghetsis had always preferred her to Concordia since she was much more willing to listen to him and the other Sages while Concordia would always fight them tooth and nail. Instead, Ghetsis just stared at her coldly and dangerously. She felt her blood curdle with fear as he looked at her as a predator Pokemon would their prey.

Ghetsis then gave a slight smile and said, "Anthea, sorry for the inconvenient transportation here. Osamu can be a little abrupt and frightening around people he considers enemies."

"How did you find me?" Anthea asked hoarsely. "The League just relocated me to Undella Town… how did you know where I was?"

Ghetsis chuckled, "My dear girl, you're not hard to find. The Shadow Triad find it quite easy to infiltrate the police department with some of our Plasma tech members to hack into their records. The League can't protect you, they never could. Which is such a shame for you since they provided you with your first real home. Team Plasma's told me that you were quite comfortably settled in Striaton City and that you've even made a real connection with a certain Gym Leader. I must say that though I don't approve of his position as a Gym Leader, I like his choice in hair color. It's a pity his workplace was so violently attacked," Ghetsis said this with a sigh and a slight smirk as he added, "I'd hate to think something worse could happen to him, but these days you never know."

"What do you want?" Anthea demanded as she got to her feet and glared at Ghetsis, "Your quarrel is with me, not with Cilan."

"Anthea, I promised all three of you that the day you betrayed me would haunt you, didn't I? I don't let traitors walk away unharmed when they try to ruin my plans," Ghetsis said with a dangerous edge as he steadily stared down Anthea until she averted her eyes. "However, for you, I'm willing to overlook what happened last year. I'm sure that if it had only been you locked away in the castle instead of Concordia, you would have done nothing when the Striaton Gym Leaders infiltrated the mansion. I'm willing to let you go free with a promise that I'll never harm you or your friends again. You'd never have to worry about another attack in your city or a late-night visit from the Shadow Triad. You could have a life all of your own."

"What are the conditions," Anthea asked slowly as she gazed down at Ghetsis' desk. "You never offer anything for free. What do you want from me?"

"I think you know, Anthea," Ghetsis said softly as he continued to watch her fidgeting figure as she nervously stared down at her hands. "It's something myself and the other Sages have asked you do for a while. Ever since we brought you three back to the mansion in fact. Break your bond with N."

Anthea felt herself stiffen a little while she automatically snapped, "No."

To her surprise, Ghetsis just laughed and said, "Come now, Anthea. I'm not asking you to do a hard thing. You already want to do it. The Shadow Triad have kept tabs on you, and they tell me you've been in to see the doctors and scientists quite a few times. I know what you've said to your boyfriend when you think you've been safe behind closed doors. You're losing all your powers. No more healing and no more speaking to Pokemon. It's interesting that you never told Cilan or the League why that was really happening, but I suppose you felt ashamed. Your bond's deteriorating because you no longer love or want to protect N. You want a life of your own that doesn't include the baggage of catering to a boy you barely even know anymore. A boy that left you and your sister the very day you were reunited. I doubt he even thinks of you anymore."

Ghetsis leaned back and smirked a little as he saw the hurt in Anthea's eyes as he said, "That must be so frustrating, Anthea. Every day you'd get up to do your duties in Plasma mansion with the knowledge that any minute you could leave. If you had just broken your bond, you could have left and started living your life years ago. You didn't have to spend those years in servitude or experimentation, but you chose to stay every day for six years. And for what? A boy that chose to run and hide like a coward. I doubt he even told you that he loved you when he saw you again."

Anthea had started to break down crying as Ghetsis said all this. Finally, she sobbed, "Shut up! You don't know what love is!"

"Neither does N," Ghetsis snapped. "If he had loved you, he wouldn't have abandoned you. I'm trying to help you, Anthea. I know you want to end this. I know you've thought about breaking the bond so that you can be with Cilan. I know you want to be free of all this. Just think of this as the proper push to get you there. N doesn't deserve your love, but Cilan does. He's already had to put up a lot with your constant struggles with your bond and Concordia. Just end it. Burn the bridge once and for all like you should've years ago."

"Do you promise to leave me and Cilan alone after this?" Anthea asked quietly as she glanced back up to look at Ghetsis' red eye.

"Of course, Anthea," Ghetsis said smoothly. "I promised that from the very first time I met you and asked you to break your bond. It's not you who I'm interested in."

Anthea looked down, and said, "I'll do it, but not for you" she hissed as she glared at Ghetsis. "Never for you, you sick, twisted monster. I hope you rot in the Distortion World along with the rest of Team Plasma."

Ghetsis just leaned back in his black seat and chuckled when she had said this. "Duly noted, Anthea. It's nice to see that you still believe Arceus cares about the fate of humanity or their souls."

Anthea glowered at Ghetsis a final time before she closed her eyes. She pictured Cilan and all the wonderful months they had spent together. His odd laughing that seemed to bubble out in different octaves. The nights he would cook her dinners and excitedly explain all the seasonings he used for the dish. She remembered him teaching her how to simmer food and how to know when noodles were ready or how to know when to add more seasoning. She saw his face standing out in the freshly fallen snow by the Striaton gardens, and she could almost feel his steady hand on her own as he led her out onto the ice while her feet wobbled in her ice skates. 'Would he ever forgive her for listening anything that Ghetsis had to say?' Anthea wondered. 'Then again, would Cilan ever forgive me if I was forced to choose N over him? The real question is between Cilan and N… a lover and closest friend or an estranged brother.' It didn't really feel like a choice. Ghetsis was right, she had already chosen before he had even come to her. Cilan would still fight neo Team Plasma and she doubted Ghetsis would keep his word in not harming them, but at least she would be free from her bond. If she did this, at least she had a chance of having a life.

Anthea breathed in and out slowly as she concentrated on the faint thread of power that connected her and N. The more she concentrated on it, the stronger she felt and the clearer her thoughts became. It also brought in a wave of memories of N, especially as a child. She almost smiled when she remembered the times they had played together in their small garden outside their dilapidated home during the warm summer months. She could almost hear his small voice and feel his little arms wrap around her as he told her he loved her.

'That N no longer exists,' Anthea thought forcefully to herself. 'I don't know the real N anymore.' She then imagined Cilan and the life they could have together. A life without N in it. Thinking about that made her feel cold and empty, but she pushed past those feelings and said out loud, "N Harmonia, you are no longer my ward and I am no longer your guardian. I will no longer serve you for as long as I live."

Anthea gasped as she felt as if the thread of energy between the two was effectively severed. Instead of feeling whole, Anthea felt as if every ounce of energy she had once felt was rapidly being drained from her body. Her eyes flew open as she staggered unsteadily against Ghetsis' desk and then tumbled to the floor as she gasped for breath. She felt her body go numb and senseless from the total lack of power and energy that she now felt. Her spirit itself felt void and empty now that the power she had become so acquainted with was now completely extinguished. Her vision slowly began to fade into black as her consciousness blurred into nothingness.

Ghetsis watched all this with satisfaction as he stood and slowly walked around his desk to where the young woman now lay motionless on the floor. He knelt beside her and felt her pulse to see if there were any signs of life. Ghetsis was surprised when he felt a faint thrum from a heartbeat on her wrist. "Still alive, are you?" Ghetsis whispered. "Not for much longer. Osamu."

"Yes, Master," Osamu said dutifully as he appeared in the room.

"Bring her body back to her villa for the League to find. I wouldn't want the poor Gym Leader to wonder where his girlfriend went off to."

Osamu hesitated slightly before saying, "Master, the girl is still alive. Shouldn't I first finish the job?"

Ghetsis shook his head, "There's no need for that. Her body's already failing since she no longer has the energy supplied from N to keep up her normal living functions. She'll either die within a few days or spend the rest of her miserable life in a coma on life support. Either way, she's no longer a threat."

Osamu cocked his head in curiosity as he looked at Anthea. He looked back up at Ghetsis, and asked, "Why did this happen to the girl?"

"Always the curious one," Ghetsis said softly. "I suppose that's why you're the leader of the three. You learn while the others don't.

"Hmm… how did Melody put it? Guardians… when they bond, they draw massive amounts of energy from their wards. So much so that the only way they can handle the energy is to physically change their bodies to be able to contain it. However, it means they become dependent on those high levels of energy, and when it stops, their bodies can no longer continue. It's like taking the plug from a computer whose battery can no longer contain a charge on its own. But it also means that power returns to the source. Without his Guardians, N will finally become the untapped raw energy that I need him to be."

"Master… with all due respect, couldn't we have just killed her and not gone through these lengths?"

"Not without N knowing," Ghetsis continued as he stood from where he had been kneeling at Anthea's side. "You're forgetting Osamu that we have one other wayward Guardian. We have no idea where she is, which makes it impossible to kill her or somehow miraculously convince her to break her bond with N which I doubt would ever happen. However," Ghetsis said with a slight smirk, "I know one idealistic fool who just loves the idea of releasing creatures so that they can be free. Now, go take Anthea back."

Osamu bowed respectfully as he scooped up Anthea's limp body in his arms. "Of course, my Master," Osamu said reverently before he teleported away.

* * *

I ran my fingers through N's brown hair as I pushed my lips against his and kissed him tenderly. I loved feeling the way he ran his hand along my long hair that I had let down from my usual high ponytail. I pressed myself against him as he staggered back into the metal wall of the warehouse's exterior. I felt myself shudder slightly as N's hands moved further down my hair and then down my back and along my spine. I ran my hands down from his hair and along his jawline before they made their way down to his chest where I tightly gripped his shirt.

Suddenly, he pulled back from our embrace and cried out in pain as he put his hand to his chest and slid down the side of the warehouse. "N!" I said as I grabbed him to stop him from completely collapsing to the ground, but he was a dead weight, and I ended up falling to the ground with him with a thud. I ignored the sharp pain I felt from the pain as I shook N's limp, unresponsive form. I pushed N onto his back and pressed my hand against his forehead and felt that it was cold and clammy. "N! Oh my Arceus!" I leaned my head against his chest to hear a heartbeat, but I didn't hear anything. Trixie and Nightstar also ran to where we were and began shaking him as well.

"Arceus, N," I cried as tears started to form and I automatically went over everything I had learned about CPR. 'Thirty compressions, two ventilations, and then Nightstar can use thunder shock on him,' I thought mentally right before N's eyes flew open and he gasped for breath. "N!" I cried as I embraced him. "What in the Distortion World happened!? Were you having a heart attack or something!?" Instead of getting a reply, I felt N's shoulders gently shake and when I pulled back, I saw tears streaming down his face. "What's wrong!?"

N looked at me, and I don't think I've ever seen the amount of hurt as I did at that moment. It reminded me of the time when N and I had 'broken up' last summer. He had the same look of hurt and betrayal, but this time it seemed much more personal. It looked as if whatever had happened in that moment had literally crushed his very heart. "Ivory," N said in a barely audible voice. "I've never felt like this before. I-I feel as if someone's reached inside of me and pulled a piece out. It's almost like having your very best friend tell you they hate you and that they never want to see you again… only this is much worse. Best friend's too weak of a word," N said quietly as he tried to piece together what had just happened. "I'd say it was more like family… maybe even a little more."

"What do you think caused it?" I asked as Trixie jumped onto N's lap with a look of concern. "I mean… I've never seen anyone's heart literally stop because of someone betraying them or hurting them. Especially because no one's here to hurt you." I caressed his cheek as I looked at him in concern, "It's just you and me here."

N thought about this for a moment before he slowly said, "I know it's strange, but I know what I felt… it was… um… well… how about this, imagine if Nightstar chose to leave you."

Nightstar quickly came up beside me and nuzzled my side before forcefully saying something to N which I knew was him saying that he'd never do that. I smiled slias he looked up at me loyally, and I could almost hear him calling me his soul mate and closest friend. I gently stroked Nightstar's soft fur and whispered, "Thank you."

Trixie at the same time came up to N and angrily began to yip at him. N sighed and said, "Don't worry, Trixie. I know you wouldn't do that. It's just… how I feel."

"Do you think this has something to do with Anthea and Concordia?"

N stared at me blankly and said, "Why would they have anything to do with this?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Because they're your Guardians…" I then looked at him and saw him looking at me in confusion. "Wait… you don't know?"

N shook his head and said, "My sisters and I haven't seen each other for a long time. When we lived in the woods, they used to tell me a bunch of stories about where we came from and how we were family by choice or something," N then looked away in shame and said, "But I stopped believing those stories when I got older. I also… got kind of angry at my sisters for a while and rejected everything they told me."

"Why?" I asked. "I mean you three were really close when I knew all of you."

N laughed, "Trust me, we had more than a few fights behind closed doors. Particularly between me and Concordia." He then looked sad as he said, "I was angry at them when we were taken back to Team Plasma. My father told me that he'd been searching for me for years… and that Anthea and Concordia had kept me from him. I blamed them for all our hardships in the woods. I had thought if they'd just let us go back to my father, we'd have been much happier. Shows how much of a gullible idiot I was."

"You weren't dumb," I said firmly. "You were just a kid with a manipulative psychotic dad. If I had been in your position, I'd probably have believed the same lies he told you."

N sighed and said, "I also came back for Anthea and Concordia, you know." He looked up at the now dark sky and said, "I know I can never be with them again, though. It's the same with you-"

"We're not going down that stupid path again," I said angrily. "We're in this together."

"Let me finish," N said impatiently. "I was going to say that it's the same with you except you aren't as involved with the League. Concordia and Anthea undoubtedly rely heavily on the League. They don't have a home outside of Team Plasma which means they're probably being provided for by the League. If I ever approach them, the League will find me. It's just… I want to tell them thanks for caring for me for all those years. Thanks for being my real family," N looked like he was again experiencing physical pain as he said this.

I hugged him and whispered, "One day, you'll be able to tell them that. Come on, we need to get back. Bianca's probably freaking out by now."

N's eyes brightened a little as he said, "How are Bianca and Black? Seeing Bianca's meltown… wasn't the greatest impression. Hopefully she's doing better than that."

I tied my hair back into my high ponytail and put my trainer's cap back on while N put on his visor. I told him all about our research journey and everything that we'd done this summer as well as Black's involvement in the League. N told me about his adventures in the Kalos Region and everything he'd been up to while he had been away. By the time we reached Bianca's apartment, it felt like we'd never been apart from each other for a year. It felt like we were picking up right where we had left off last summer.

"That reminds me," N said as he turned to say goodbye at Bianca's entrance gate to the student apartment complex. "Call Black and tell him about what happened. I'm probably not going to tell the League anything, and it would be best to not get the police involved. The street Pokemon don't trust them since a lot of them turn blind eyes to Pokemon violence and drug trafficking. Best to go directly to the League."

I grabbed his wrist before he could leave and whispered, "Promise me that I'll see you again."

"I promise," N whispered. He then looked at me seriously, "Now you promise me that if anything happens to me, you'll move on with your life."

"N nothing will happen-"

"Promise me, Ivory," N said softly.

I looked at him for a moment before saying, "I promise."

"Good," N then said. "When you talk to your brother, try and get as much information about neo Team Plasma's movements. I'll keep working with the Pokemon, but the League might know their movements outside of Castelia City."

"Alright," I said. I wanted to kiss him so badly, but that probably wouldn't be the best along the campus area of the university where dozens of students were walking by us. "How will I contact you?"

"Send a Pidove and tell it what you want to say to me. Tell him to go to Castelia Park by the old tree and ask for me. I'll be there in the evening around seven." He then waved goodbye, and I watched as he and Trixie walked together through the now dark city with only the overhanging streetlights to light his way.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

"There you are, Ivory," Bianca said as she hugged me the minute I stepped through her apartment door. "Rosa and I were so worried about you! Where have you been?"

"Having a party," Rosa said from our table where she had been looking at some printed out pieces of data from our recordings at Castelia sewers. Rosa smiled up at me and said, "I've never seen your eyes look so bright and alive. You're practically glowing, Ivory."

"Yeah, you are," Bianca said in confusion. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling fine. I just had to go over some details with Nate. Like how I felt I had run into a wall when facing neo Team Plasma," I lied quickly. 'Had that really just happened earlier this evening? It feels like a lifetime ago.'

Bianca was about to ask more questions, but I interjected, "Um… could I take a shower first please. I still haven't washed off all that sewer grossness."

"Okay, but then you have to tell us everything that happened," Bianca insisted.

I quickly slipped by her and walked down her tiny hallway to her even smaller bathroom where I locked the door and pulled out my phone. I waited for a few rings before Black finally picked up and said, "Ivory, are you and Bianca alright? Has something happened?"

"Um…no. Black, earlier today we were attacked personally by neo Team Plasma, and the two gingers, Alex and Jenna."

"What! How? When? You have to tell me everything," Black insisted. "Wait a minute. I'm putting you on speaker phone with Cheren and this guy named Hugh. We've been working together to investigate neo Team Plasma. Okay, go."

I quickly explained everything that had happened while we were in the sewers and about the device that neo Team Plasma had invented. I described the feeling I had when I tried to control the Pokemon and how our own Pokemon had turned against us aside from Nightstar.

"How did you escape?" I heard a voice that I didn't recognize ask. 'Must be Hugh's.' "I mean you were apparently blocked off in the sewers. I highly doubt they just let you go."

"Um… funny story. I think their device malfunctioned or something, and we got control over our Pokemon. We just used them to run away because we didn't want them to hurt us anymore."

"Hmm…," Hugh said quietly. "Maybe that's what the final piece is for."

"Maybe," Cheren said. "Could you imagine? A device that can do what a Whisperer can, but it's more powerful."

"They'd be unstoppable," Black mused. "That's good to know if we're going to fight against them."

"We'd need to find the device first, and then destroy it before the battle," Hugh said. "Maybe we could get our informant to destroy it."

"Do you know where their next attack will be?" I pressed. "I might be able to help!" I heard them muttering to each other, and I said, "Come on guys. I can totally help you! Nightstar was still able to fight and will help you take down any neo Team Plasma Pokemon. I don't want to sit around anymore waiting to be attacked. Team Plasma's attacked me personally and I want to do something about it!"

"She sounds like your sister, Black," I heard Hugh say with a slight chuckle. "The next suspected attack's in Driftveil City. Come at your own risk."

"Are you sure you want to do this Ivory?" Cheren asked. "I mean, neo Team Plasma doesn't hold you in the highest regard. This attack's going to be a big one, so we don't want to see you getting hurt."

"Whatever Cheren. I can handle it."

"She's right," Black insisted. "She's way tough, and Nightstar's awesome. I'm more worried about Bianca than her."

"Well, Bianca can fight on the sidelines. You know, by taking pictures to document the League's victory over neo Team Plasma."

At this, Black laughed and said, "Then I'll be sure to look pretty awesome when I battle. I want her to get my good side."

"The attack's in two days. Come to the Gym if you're serious about fighting with us."

"I'll be there," I insisted, "And I might bring a couple of friends."

"Okay. Don't let neo Team Plasma kill you before then," Black said jokingly, but I could hear a serious note in his voice.

"I will," I responded as I hung up the phone.

* * *

"Are you seriously about to abandon our entire research journey to go save the world from neo Team Plasma, and you're not going to invite me," Rosa said huffily.

"I'm still having hard time getting over the fact that we're going at all," Bianca replied honestly. "I mean we nearly died yesterday, and then Ivory talks to Nate for a while and then decides to go on a crusade to stop neo Team Plasma. Are we sure we want to walk into the jaws of death a fourth time?"

"Oh, come on," I said as I rolled my eyes. "We did the same thing last year at Plasma mansion. We had a crazy plan that somehow worked out. The same thing will happen this time… hopefully." I continued packing my gear and bag before saying, "I'm going no matter what. Black, Cheren, and a lot of other League members will be there. They told me they think this is the last deal of neo Team Plasma's, so if they can stop this and seriously attack, then we'll make a real dent in their little schemes."

"Then I'm in," Rosa said determinedly as she stood from the kitchen table where we'd been sitting discussing everything I had told them from last night. "I'll also start packing, and then tomorrow it's Driftveil City here we come!"

Bianca sighed and said, "Do they have a plan for the device that controls people's Pokemon? I mean, I personally see this fight going south real fast for the League if they don't have a plan for it."

"They do. They're going to have their informant sabotage it and the Elite Four will be coming to help deal with the Shadow Triad. It'll be a huge hit against them. Besides, Bianca you won't have to do any real fighting. You could just wait there until the fighting's over and then we could go on our journey's from there."

"Um… I guess, but I'll be worried about you," Bianca said sadly. "I'll definitely be there for you. Moral support, and who knows, maybe I'll even be able to do something."

"Great. That settles it. Um… Nate's going to meet us at the bus stop to Driftveil City as well. He's going to help us fight against neo Team Plasma." I blushed a little when I had said this, and Rosa arched her eyebrow while Bianca looked at me in surprise. "Anyway, we still have a day here," I continued. "We'll want to be as prepared for the attack as possible. You know, stocking up on supplies. I also think I'm going to try and train with Nightstar."

"Sounds great," Rosa said as she stood up and grabbed Ila's pokeball. "You should come too Bianca. You could train Richie and your other Pokemon as well."

Bianca nodded and sighed, "Okay. Nellie loves training, and Moon seems to enjoy it as well."

* * *

_"They travel in a big black sailboat. I don't usually see them because they travel at night, but sometimes when I'm flying I can see them,"_ The small Wingull said that sat perched on the railing next to Prime Pier where N was leaning against it and looking out onto the gray choppy waters.

"Why doesn't the League stop them if they're traveling around in a big ship? Is it because they're traveling at night? The League's sonar should be able to pick them up and then they could send their own ships to fight them. Maybe Team Plasma has special devices to prevent just that. I know Team Rocket does even though they mainly smuggle their goods through Unovan registered ships."

_"Or they're looking in the wrong direction,"_ the Wingull said simply.

"What do you mean by-"

_"Hey, N!"_ A small Rattata called as he crawled from one of the grates leading to the sewers. The Rattata scuttled towards N's proximity before snuffling some garbage along the piers so that it didn't seem like he was talking to N. _"So, I checked the rest of the sewers like you asked. I was looking all night, but I didn't find any other traces of Team Plasma. I was asking some other Pokemon though, and two of them said that they saw Alex and Jenna come down earlier with another guy. They told me this human was dressed differently than the others. He was wearing a white coat and he was over by Relic Passage. The weird thing is, the Zubat that I talked to about it said that he was watching everything that happened to the Whisperer and the other two humans. He said the human then started poking his arm or something and the Zubat told me everything got all weird and hazy. He said he didn't know what was happening until he felt you calling for help to fight Team Plasma. All the other Pokemon I talked to weren't really paying attention to what was happening, but they also said that the other night there was a point that they felt kind of out of it until you came."_

"The man wearing the white coat must be the one in charge of the Pokemon control device," N said softly. "Did the Pokemon say what happened afterwards?"

_"Nope, he said that when you left, the other guy was also gone when he came back to the cave."_

_"I don't like this,"_ Trixie said vehemently. _"It's clear that Team Plasma planned on attacking Ivory. I mean, how did they even know she was going to be down there! Most people don't purposely go down to the sewers. Also, who is this guy and what does he know? How was he even able to make a machine like that."_ Trixie shook her head as she stood next to N and continued to stare out at the ocean. _"They're really well prepared… it's kind of scary."_

"Ivory did say that they at least have a spy in their ranks. I'm just worried they'll get killed doing that. Katashi has always been more the stab first ask questions later kind of person."

"_Yeah… but they're doing the same thing we're doing. Risking it all to stop Team Plasma,"_ Trixie said simply. _"Anyway, how are we going to stop these guys?"_

N sighed, "Thanks Ocean and Biter for the information. Keep watching, and Biter, if you see another member of neo Team Plasma, I want you to try and grab one of their pokeballs. I know it's risky since you could get captured, but their Pokemon might know something. Ocean, keep to the skies and keep a lookout for neo Team Plasma's frigate."

_"Okay," _Biter said before he scuttled away from N and headed back down the sewer. Ocean also took off from the railing and flew into the clear blue sky saying should we check the airways to see if she saw the frigate there.

_"So, what was that plan of attack again?"_ Trixie asked dryly. _"Let me guess, have a bunch of Pokemon attack neo Team Plasma's frigate."_

"If they're having a deal in Driftveil City, their frigate might come and I could have the water type Pokemon attack it," N said simply. "I could join the raid as Nate and then slip away to the docks when the frigate appears."

_"The League will know it's you at that point," _Trixie stated. _"Are you willing to do that?"_

"To stop Team Plasma once and for all and save Ivory? I'd do it in a heartbeat." N said forcefully. "Besides, they'd just know I'm here… it doesn't mean they'd be able to catch me."

_"Uh-huh. You're going to be saying 'No one will be able to catch me,' right up to you getting conked on the head and getting captured."_ Trixie sighed, _"I don't know… I'm glad the League has a plan in Driftveil or whatever, but I doubt it'll be the end of Team Plasma."_

"Probably not," N said quietly. "The Sages were rarely at the same place at the same time aside from their meetings or when I summoned Zekrom. It won't be over until all of them are in jail and none of them have the resources to get out."

_"And the Shadow Triad are dead," _Trixie said flatly. N looked like he was about to say something against this, but Trixie cut in, _"Oh come on, N. You know that the Shadow Triad could easily break them out and start rebuilding Team Plasma even if you destroyed all their resources. Besides, I always hated those guys. You always thought they were just there to protect you, but really, they were just Ghetsis' lap Lillipups making sure they kept you in check. They're dangerous, evil, and heartless. Even if you somehow found a way to permanently stop them teleporting, they'll probably end up murdering people with their bare hands. They'll never listen to reason."_

N glanced away, "I-I don't know about killing them though."

Trixie rolled her eyes, _"N you're planning on destroying their frigate with water Pokemon. That's going to end up killing less eviler guys than those three."_ Trixie saw that N was now looking at his hands guiltily. _"Please don't tell me I gave you an existential crisis. You had to have known people would get hurt outside of yourself," _Trixie hesitated before continuing,_ "… you might… you… might have to kill your father as well you know."_

"I… I…," N shook his head before continuing, "I don't think I could do that."

_"He tortured you and nearly murdered Nightstar, Ivory, Bianca, Black, and that other guy last year!"_ Trixie snapped. _"If he captures you, he's going to do the exact same thing. All he wants is your power. He doesn't care about you! Look, I'm not saying you should go out of your way to kill him or something. If he doesn't have the Shadow Triad, he's a lot easier to keep in jail. I'm just saying, you can't keep thinking of him as your dad. He's a bad guy!"_

"Wasn't I one last year," N responded softly. "I did some pretty terrible things to the Unovans. I said awful things to Alder and all the League after I'd won. I-I knew the Sages were going to execute the League members if they didn't side with Team Plasma. When I was with Zekrom, he talked about how I was above the humans and that he'd make sure they were all my subjects and knew their place, and… I… agreed with him. I let all the power go to my head. When Ivory came to me talking about how Team Plasma was corrupt and creating a dystopia, I realized that the Team Plasma she was describing was the person that I was. I saw what was happening, but I compromised my own values since I thought it would pay off in the end. I helped Team Plasma steal all those people's Pokemon. I helped them ruin people's lives just like they're doing now. Would you have killed me last year as well? You say the Shadow Triad's dangerous but aren't my powers much worse than theirs."

Trixie said nothing for a while as she glowered at the ocean, but she finally sighed, _"Of course not. I'm not innocent either though. I knew what you were doing, and I supported you summoning Zekrom."_

"You didn't keep supporting Team Plasma though… unlike me," N added quietly.

"…_I saw that you started doing things that the N I know and love would never do."_

"When you told me that, I stopped taking you with me. I started to ignore you… just like I ignored Anthea and Concordia for all those years," N said guiltily. "I thought I was right, and I couldn't see how wrong I was."

"_You couldn't see how you were being manipulated by both Zekrom and Ghetsis the more and more powerful you became. Zekrom started wanting you to lend more of your power to him so that he could put all the other mythical Pokemon in their place. Ghetsis asked you to do worse and worse things, and you never once questioned him. At least Zekrom genuinely liked you." _Trixie then sighed, _"But I still cared about you."_ She took his hand and said, _"I still loved you… I chose to stay with you no matter what… even if you can be dumb sometimes."_

"It still doesn't change the fact that I became bad," N said softly. "If you and Ivory thought I deserved a second chance, doesn't my father? Maybe if I talked to him-"

_"I wonder if Lady Melody thought the same thing,"_ Trixie said quietly. _"If you try and talk to him, he'll just twist the conversation so that you'll start to sympathize with him more. Ghetsis won't change because he doesn't have a soul."_

"You can't know that," N insisted. "He… he…"

Trixie shook her head, _"No. Don't let him turn you into a puppet again. He's a monster and he'll stop at nothing before he's taken over Unova."_

N dropped his gaze and said quietly, "Let's change the topic. I feel empty enough as it is from whatever happened last night." N shivered slightly. "I hope we can stop them soon… I feel… cold thinking about them… like… I don't know… A part of me feels abandoned. Lost."

_"Well, you still have me, Ivory, and Nightstar. Not to mention every Pokemon ever since we all love you,"_ Trixie insisted.

"Thanks for your support Trixie, and I have your back too. No matter what happens, we'll always be there together." N glanced away slightly when he said that. Again, the feeling of something missing came back, but he quickly shook his head and ignored it.

Trixie smiled sadly, _"Yep. We're in this together to the end…"_ her eyes then also drooped along with N's. _"The very end."_

**A/N: Thanks for reading SnowCatt!**

**Also, if anyone's getting the obvious vibes that something very bad is about to happen… you're right.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

The drive to Driftveil on the old creaky bus was long, and it took most of the day to get there. I slept on and off during it while intermittently talking to Bianca who I was sitting next to. N and Trixie were sitting next to each other behind us while Rosa sat across from us busily texting on her phone. I only really looked out the window when we reached Nimbasa City and saw the circular Ferris Wheel loftily taking its patrons to the sky. I glanced back at N and saw that he had noticed it as well.

"Okay, what's going on with you and Nate," Bianca whispered next to me.

I glanced up from the notebook I was currently doodling on and said, "What do you mean? He's just some guy that saved our lives."

"I get that," Bianca said. "I think he's cool because of that as well, but I don't have a crazy crush on him like you do."

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. "I don't have a crush on him. I just think he's a nice guy and he's pretty awesome because he's a Pokemon Master. Like I said, he reminds me of my brother."

"Okay, first of all, he's nothing like Black," Bianca whispered back. "I talked to him while we were waiting for the bus. He doesn't seem to care about battling that much, and he doesn't know how many battles he's won. Black keeps a running tally and is always trying to break his record. For another, he's so quiet… and musical. He sounds kind of like- now don't hate me for saying this- but he kind of sounds like N. You know how he kind of sounds like he's singing half the time. Another thing, he's more of an intellectual kind of guy, but not like Cheren. Cheren's got this whole calculating and cunning thing going on. Nate's kind of like a philosophical, moral…"

Bianca stopped talking as she glanced down at the notebook I had been drawing in. "And you just drew an entire page full of hearts in it." She looked up at me for a few moments before sighing and whispering in my ear, "Nate's N, isn't he?"

I pursed my lips before nodding a little which only made Bianca sigh even more. "How did I not connect the dots before? Rosa said he was either a super powerful trainer or Whisperer… who has a thing against neo Team Plasma. That explains why you two were gone for so long." She then looked at me with slight concern, "… Wait a minute. Why were you two gone for so long?"

I blushed and said, "It wasn't like that! We were just reconnecting after an entire year. You know, talking about our journey, what he did while he was gone. We were also talking about how he wanted to stop neo Team Plasma from hurting more people, and I said I wanted to help him. Things like that." I could see that she didn't fully believe me, so I threw in, "Okay, so we kissed a little… okay, a lot, but it was mainly just talking."

Bianca arched her eyebrow and said, "...Okay. Well, have you told anyone else that N's back in Unova like the League or Black? I mean N's my friend too and all, but he's kind of a wanted felon."

I looked over at her and whispered quietly, "I haven't told anyone. If we do go to the League, I want it to be on N's terms and not because I turned him in."

Bianca looked a little concerned, but she finally said, "I guess that makes sense. Anyway, it's my turn to talk to him, so if you'll excuse me," She then got up from her seat and marched behind us and said to Trixie, "Hey, I need to talk to Nate. Mind sitting next to Ivory or Rosa?"

Trixie looked a little miffed, but she got up and let Bianca sit who started a hurried whispered conversation with N while Trixie sat down next to me. 'This is going to be a long ride.' I glanced over at Rosa who was shooting glances at the five of us, but oddly enough, she didn't make any comment or seem all that surprised. She just returned to texting and ignored us. I sighed and closed my eyes as I tried to ignore the hushed whispers of Bianca and N as the bus rocked me back to sleep.

When I got up, I stretched my legs and arms as we all stiffly walked out of the bus. "Well, that was a long ride," Rosa said as she stretched down and touched her toes to loosen up her legs.

"Ivory! Bianca!" I heard Black call out.

I grinned as I saw Black waving at me with his same trainer's cap that made his brown hair swish out. He was standing next to Cheren who looked as serious as always, but I'll admit that the year since last summer had done him well in the looks department. He no longer wore his glasses and he was dressed in nice slacks and a white top. He also looked a lot less uptight and like he was a boring book worm or a stick in the mud. He smiled at Bianca and then at me as we approached. I felt kind of bad since I hadn't kept in good contact with Cheren over the past year since he and I had never been as close as me and Bianca.

Standing next to Cheren was a guy that I assumed was Hugh. Hugh was one of those scary looking guys that looked like they'd bite your head off if they didn't like you. He was especially intimidating with his spiky blue hair and red piercing eyes. He didn't smile when he saw us, but he didn't glare either. Then his eyes shifted behind me, and I saw his eyes widen in shock.

I didn't think too much about Hugh's reaction as I ran over to Black and gave him a big Bewear hug as I said, "It's been so long, Black! You're either training or going away on special missions."

"Well, that's what happens when you grow up and join the League, sis," Black said. "I'm just glad you guys are safe. It's just too bad you didn't punch either of those idiots in the face."

"That's what tomorrow night's for," I said lightly. I then turned to Cheren and gave him a big hug. I couldn't help but notice Bianca and Black hug from the corner of my eye. Bianca was blushing furiously, but Black looked completely oblivious to the fact that Bianca obviously liked him. 'I'll have to work on that,' I thought determinedly.

"So, these must be your new friends," Black commented as he looked at Rosa, N, and Trixie. Black narrowed his eyes as he looked suspiciously at N, "You look awfully familiar to me. Have I seen you from somewhere before?"

N quickly shook his head and said, "Probably not. I'm from Aspertia City. My name's Nate Anderson."

"Aspertia City," Cheren said. "That's kind of like Hugh."

"And Rosa," Bianca quickly added.

"Huh, so this is like some sort of reunion thing," Black commented.

I glanced back to see that while N and Trixie were smiling slightly awkwardly. Rosa was staring at Hugh, but Hugh's reaction topped the cake. It looked like their meeting had literally floored him. He was gaping at both of them as his eyes shifted between N and Rosa. He quickly regained his composure and glared stonily at Rosa, "Rosa, it's been a while. What are you doing here… with these two girls?"

Rosa laughed nervously and said, "Research, obviously."

"We've been travelling together since we met over a month ago on Flocessy Ranch," Bianca quickly explained. "We've been having a great time since."

Hugh then looked at Nate, and said, "The both of you look… really different. Nate, I'm surprised you haven't asked me about my little sister, Ashlyn or her Purrloin, Jackie."

N paled slightly and said nervously, "Oh, yes. Ashlyn and Jackie. They're really cute… um how are they doing?"

"They're wonderful," Hugh said flatly. "Ashlyn still likes to curl up in bed with Jackie sleeping on her face."

N smiled, and said, "That's cute. Sorry I didn't ask earlier, It's just been a while since we met, and I haven't thought about them in a while."

"So, Nate, where have you been all this time?" Hugh asked as he folded his arms and looked piercingly at N. "Let me guess, started in Johto then made your way to Hoenn, stopped at Sinnoh, and then Kalos."

I saw N's smile visibly falter as his eyes widened slightly before he said, "Actually, I've spent almost all my time in the Kalos Region. I've been there for the past couple of years."

"Studying?" Hugh asked innocently.

N straightened as he stood his ground, "Actually, I've been training. I love Pokemon battles and being the best at every fight I have. Anyway, I'm here to stop neo Team Plasma from doing any more harm to the Unova Region."

"Wow, Nate. That's great that you're trying to actually help the League to stop the threat," Hugh said dryly. He then looked over at Trixie and asked, "Who's your friend."

"This is Tiffany," N said quickly as he shifted uneasily under Hugh's glare. "I met her in the Kalos Region. She's very shy."

"She doesn't look shy," Hugh said as he watched Trixie glare daggers at him and ball her hands into fists. "Can't the lovely lady speak for herself."

"Um… she's mute."

"That's too bad. She looks like she's got a fiery personality," Hugh commented. "Well, Nate, since you and your friends are so determined to come fight Team Plasma, let's do it the best way possible. Let's go to the League. The Gym's not too far from here, let me escort you there personally." He then turned to Rosa and glowered, "You're coming with us as well."

Rosa just smiled, "To fight neo Team Plasma, anytime!"

Hugh then walked toward N and reached out to grab him by the arm. N quickly stepped back and away from Hugh's reach while Trixie moved defensively in front of him. N then said, "No. I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm working separately from the League."

"Wait a minute, does that mean you're going to go around like a vigilante?" Cheren asked in confusion. "That's illegal you know."

"I doubt _Nate_ here even knows the meaning of the word illegal," Hugh muttered.

'This is getting bad really fast.' I glanced over at Bianca, and I could see she looked really nervous as well. "Well, Nate's not working for the League because he's actually working for the United Regions. He's a Pokemon Master!" I said as I tried to sell the lie as convincingly as I could.

"Wait, you're a Pokemon Master," Black asked N. "That's what I want to be."

"Yep," N lied. "Being a Pokemon Master is the best. Nothing like seeing your Pokemon become the best fighting machines the world has to offer. I've already been briefed on the attack on neo Team Plasma, so I won't have to go to the Gym for any more information." N then turned with Trixie and quickly walked away from where we were all standing.

Hugh just glared at him before turning to Rosa, but she had already taken off in the opposite direction while waving goodbye. She then called, "I have to go to the mart to buy some things for our attack."

That left all of us standing around awkwardly while Hugh looked like he was about to murder everyone in Driftveil City. "Um… Hugh," Black said awkwardly. "What's going on? Why are you acting like this?" Black then muttered in my ear, "This guy's usually like a ghost type. No normal attack can ever affect him. Something really weird must be going on."

'You think Black,' I thought to myself, but I just said, "So, should we go to the Gym. Get ready for our attack and everything?"

Hugh turned to glare at Bianca and I which made us both squeak and look at the ground uncomfortably. "I'm going to go make a phone call. I expect you all to be ready and in the Gym by eleven o'clock. Got it? Oh, and Ivory," Hugh then turned to me and walked up to me which made me feel like I was shrinking into myself to avoid his angry glare, "Bring Nate with you. This isn't a game. Make sure he's there."

"Yes, sir," Bianca, Cheren, and Black said dutifully. I fearfully nodded at Hugh and even Nightstar made a little salute to show that he understood.

**A/N: N's disguise is starting to fall apart, but the real question is, has it already.**

**Things are about to going to get really dark, but I promise there is a happy ending by the end. At least for some people there is.**

**SnowCatt: Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate each review you give. I've always thought Trixie always had a sixth sense for danger, and I wrote her as N's voice of reason since he can do petty dumb things when she's not around.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

_"Amy use pursuit," Evelyn called to her Purrloin who was currently standing in the arena facing her foe, a young Lillipup and a trainer who could be no older than fourteen. Amy's green eyes gleamed with the thrill of the battle as she disappeared in a flash before suddenly appearing in front of the Lillipup in a dark pulse of energy._

_ "Max, dodge it," the young trainer yelled, but the Lillipup was already hit dead on by the dark attack of energy from the Purrloin which sent him rolling in the dirt of the battlefield before shakily getting back onto his feet. "Max use take down!"_

_ The Lillipup rushed at the Purrloin quickly and with such force that it sent both the Pokemon hurtling across the field and landing in a heap where they both laid motionlessly. "The battle's a draw," their teacher called out. "Both Amy and Max are unable to battle."_

_ Evelyn sighed as she recalled Amy into her pokeball and glumly turned from her opponent and teacher to walk dejectedly from the Pokemon school's battlefield. "Next time you should use sand attack to lower the Lillipup's accuracy. It might have given Amy a chance to dodge it and then hit it with another attack."_

_ Evelyn's eyes widened as she looked up and saw her big brother leaning casually against the wall that led to the battlefield. Evelyn grinned when she saw the familiar blue hair and red eyes as she yelled, "Hugh! You're back from training for the League! I can't believe it!" She rushed over and hugged her brother tightly around the torso as she whispered, "It's been so long… I didn't know you'd be coming back especially with all that weird stuff happening with Team Plasma."_

_ She felt Hugh stiffen slightly as he hugged her before pulling back and saying, "I was actually on the road coming back here when I heard about the whole challenge thing. I called and asked if they wanted me to come back, but they told me to stay here… and transfer all my Pokemon to the international PC only League members have."_

_ Evelyn pulled back and stared up at Hugh with wide eyes, "I-it's that bad! Champion Alder will win though, right!? I mean Team Plasma claiming they summoned the patron god Zekrom is just weird. They didn't actually do it, right!? Hugh, Hugh!"_

_ Hugh looked away from his sister as he walked away from the battlefield and said, "Come on. Let's go home… the battle's at noon. We'll see what happens."_

Hugh shuttered slightly as the memories came to him of the battle. It was almost painful to watch as the king of Team Plasma ordered all the Pokemon to stop fighting, the time when all the Wing Force stopped and were hit by the bolt of lightening from the god Zekrom himself, and the sad defeat afterwards as almost every single one of the League's Pokemon just stood there as Zekrom defeated each and every one of them. It had been awful watching N move to the middle of the League battlefield declaring himself the winner and announcing some idiotic new order where Pokemon and people would now be equals. It hurt to watch as the god so many Unovans worshipped stand loyally next to him while he said all of that garbage.

_"By order of the King we demand you release all your Pokemon and permanently disband this Gym and Pokemon school. It'll no longer be necessary to teach our children how to brutally hurt and act as slave owners to Pokemon," a member of Team Plasma announced as he walked up to Gym Leader Ryan who was standing defensively in front of his Gym's entrance to bar the knights' entrance. Behind the Gym Leader were a bunch of his students standing ready with their pokeballs. Hugh stood next to Evelyn who had Amy's pokeball out and ready to battle. Behind the knights were also a mob of angry citizens with their own pokeballs and even Pokemon out and ready to battle._

_ "Go to the Distortion World," Ryan said severely. "We don't recognize you or your king. Now get your Mudbrays out of my sight and out of my city. You won't take any of our Pokemon from us. Not without a fight."_

_ "Yeah, we don't want to see your Plasma filth on our streets anymore," one man from the mob sneered._

_ "Alder's the real leader, not some half-brained twit who thinks he's a hotshot because he was able to lie to god Zekrom," another person yelled._

_ "Go back and tell your king that he can go and f-"_

_ "Silence," the Plasma guy roared as he turned to face the crowd. "Don't you see that you've already lost! The League couldn't fight against the King. They're no longer your leaders. We Team Plasma are! Now release your Pokemon!"_

_ Hugh snorted, "So you can capture them all? The great Team Plasma's plan is really just to take all our Pokemon to make us completely defenseless. It's not about your stupid equal rights movement. This is about power and control."_

_ Ryan stepped forward and said to the police officers that were still there, "Arrest them. If they won't leave, then forcibly remove them."_

_ The police officers moved forward and grabbed the Plasma members while putting handcuffs on their wrists and dragging them off the steps that led into the Pokemon Gym while the crowd cheered and spat at the knights. Hugh smiled as he watched the Plasma members be dragged off when he heard an unearthly cry sound above him from the sky. It pierced and cut through the air with such force and ferocity that it immediately made Hugh's blood run cold. All the crowd went quiet except for one of the arrested knights who shouted, "It's over fools! You should have listened to us when we first came!"_

_ Hugh looked up and watched as the sky turned from a light blue to a murky gray as clouds began to appear from seemingly nowhere and blue lightning flashed through the sky. The unearthly roar came once more causing the very ground and buildings to shake as all the citizens, Hugh included, covered their ears to block out the piercing cry. From the clouds descended the god himself. His body was an unnatural black, his eyes a fearsome red, and his tail a spinning whirl of blue electricity and power._

_ "Evelyn, run!" Hugh yelled as he grabbed his sister's hand and ran down the steps away from the giant deity who promptly landed on top of the Gym/Pokemon School and caused the entire building to buckle and collapse beneath its weight and power. Dust flew through the air temporarily blinding Hugh as he covered his face with his arms as he heard the earth-shattering roar once more. When the dust cleared, Hugh looked up to see where the Gym Leader had stood at the top of the steps before he ran for cover along with the rest of his students was a young man with long, wild green hair._

_ He wasn't exactly what Hugh had expected. He wasn't wearing his white robes like he had at the Pokemon League battle three days ago. Instead he was wearing tan pants and a white button up shirt with a black undershirt. Hugh was surprised by how young he looked. He couldn't be much older than his little sister._

_ The boy walked towards the crowd and looked over at the police officers and arrested Team Plasma members. Despite the bravado and bravery the Aspertians had shown against the Plasma knights, they all visibly shrank and moved away from the approaching green haired boy. The Plasma king surveyed the crowd, and some stared back at him defiantly, but many averted their eyes and continued to back away from him. "Release them," N said authoritatively. The officers just stared at him and one brave soul actually had the audacity to shake his head no. The boy looked irritated that he had been defied, and a shimmering red light began to emanate from his skin until it completely encompassed him just as he had when he battled the League. Hugh could feel the power and energy that seemed to pulsate from the young king as he said, "I said, RELEASE THEM." This time Zekrom moved forward smashing the already destroyed walls of the Aspertia Gym and roared directly at the officers who then promptly undid the handcuffs from off the Plasma members who arrogantly smirked and went to stand by the boy. "My knights have told me that the citizens of Aspertia can't see the glorious future for Unova," N said softly, still glowing a faint red. "That's unfortunate, for you." The boy lifted his hands and slightly levitated as he closed his eyes and said, "Come out, my friends. You'll no longer be slaves."_

_ Suddenly all the Aspertian citizen's pokeballs broke up as every Pokemon was released, and all the now wild Pokemon dutifully moved forward to where N was standing. Hugh watched as Pokemon that had been well loved and cared for by their owners for years marched away from them without so much as a second glance. Each of them lined up dutifully behind N as if they were a legion of soldiers standing behind their commander. "It's such a pity none of you can see that Pokemon are so much happier outside of their confinements. Pokemon want to be free, but you've changed them to think a certain way through your pokeballs."_

_ "Amy," Evelyn cried as her Purrloin walked over to N where he picked up the small Pokemon in his arms._

"_Pokemon aren't meant to be treated as pets," N hissed. "Nor were they meant to be forced into battles for pure sport and gambling. The only Pokemon that will be forced into confinement are the ones that will work with Team Plasma to help secure the routes until better communication can be established between humans and Pokemon." _

_The Plasma members smirked as they brought out empty pokeballs and one by one each of the Aspertian Pokemon silently waited until they were all captured in front of their trainers. Evelyn watched in horror as N handed her beloved Purrloin over to a Plasma knight who then engulfed her in a beam of red light. Many of the Aspertian trainers had started crying when they saw their beloved Pokemon be taken away. Others like Ryan and some of his students started yelling in protest as they aggressively moved forward to stop Team Plasma, but Zekrom roared dangerously as his tail crackled with electricity which caused all of them to stop and back up a little._

_Evelyn, however, had begun to sob uncontrollably, and she screamed and rushed at the Plasma king in a rage as she yelled, "Amy was given to me by my grandfather, you bastard! She's all I have to remind me of him! She's my best friend." She tried to reach N, but she was intercepted by a pair of Plasma knights who took her by both her arms and dragged her away while she screamed uncontrollably. _

_Hugh tried to rush over to his sister, but Ryan grabbed his arm and shook his head before whispering, "Doing that will only make it worse for her. They might resort to using Pokemon on both of you."_

_ The Plasma king's eyes flickered slightly in concern for Evelyn, but he made no move to stop her from being taken away. Instead, he turned to address the crowd, "Of course, there must be a compensation for what you've done. You've already arrested the first set of Team Plasma's knights and you were about to do the same with these ones. Aspertia will be an example to any other resisting Unovans. This is an affluent city. I'm sure none of you would miss a few of your valuables going to the funding of the new regime."_

_ Finally, Hugh couldn't take it anymore as he shook off Ryan's hand and he roared, "So you just steal all our Pokemon in front of us and then take our belongings!? You talk about Pokemon wanting this to happen, but did it ever occur to you that that's just what you want them to say to you." Hugh broke forward as his sister had and marched straight toward N and yelled, "All you are is an arrogant prick who's had everything given to you. So what that you can have Pokemon follow you? That's controlling them just as much as a pokeball does. Besides, none of you even care about Pokemon to begin with. All you are a bunch of robbers and power-hungry bastards. Especially you," Hugh hissed pointing accusingly at N. "You think you're so high and mighty, but you're the worst of the bunch."_

_ Hugh saw a momentary flicker of regret and doubt in the boy's eyes as the knights grabbed Hugh and shoved him away from N. N quickly masked any emotion he was feeling as he arrogantly said, "Says the man who enslaves his own 'friends.' It'll be hard at first, but you'll all get used to Team Plasma's regime."_

_ "I will never get to used to living under an insolent, stuck-up, idiot like you," Hugh growled. "I won't ever let you get away with this." By this point the Plasma members had started dragging Hugh away from N towards where Evelyn was standing. The boy ignored Hugh and turned back to walk towards Zekrom. "Do you hear me!?" Hugh roared, "You'll regret this!"_

'Arrogant bastard didn't even recognize me,' Hugh thought as he pulled out his phone to make a call to Iris as he walked swiftly towards Driftveil's Gym. 'Had the nerve to come back disguised as my only friend. Stupid brat thinks he can make amends for what he did. His ego's probably so big that he thinks he can bring down all of neo Team Plasma down single-handedly. And of course neo Team Plasma knows he's here… Arceus. Why tonight of all nights?' He waited for a few seconds as the phone rang before he felt a sudden burst of pain in his hand holding the phone causing him to flinch and involuntarily drop the phone which sent it crashing to the ground. He looked to his side and saw that it was a Serperior that had used vine whip on his hand. The Serperior's other vine then wrapped around his damaged phone lying on the ground which it then brought back to Rosa who was leaning against the railing leading out to the channel that the Driftveil Drawbridge connected.

Rosa smiled sweetly at Hugh and said, "I hope your phone's waterproof," before chucking it out into the ocean water. Hugh glowered as he looked at Rosa, and he quickly checked his surroundings to see that he was unfortunately in an isolated spot with no witnesses. There was only Rosa standing by the railing to the sea, a small park between them with a water fountain in the middle, and tall apartment buildings flanking all other sides. Hugh brought out his pokeballs to fight. Rosa rolled her eyes and said, "Do you honestly think you can beat me, Hugh?"

"I've become stronger with the League," Hugh hissed. "How much could those Plasma bastards help you with your training?"

"Well, since we'd rather you not make a big mess before your attack on neo Team Plasma, I'd say put the pokeballs away," Hugh turned around and saw Jackson standing in the shadows of an alleyway with his Froakie on his shoulder. "Not that your Pokemon would be able to do anything."

Hugh felt himself go cold slightly, "This is all a setup. You're going to attack the League on your terms."

"You got it," Rosa said as she walked toward Hugh with Ila slithering behind her. "The real deal is happening in Castelia City and the Plasma Frigate is nowhere near either of those locations. The worst part for the League is, Team Plasma's still going to pull the rug from underneath their feet during the League's raid."

"You're going to take him, aren't you," Hugh said softly as he glared at Rosa. "You're going to take him in the most degrading way for the League possible. Right when he's under their watch."

"Ding, ding, ding! Give the boy a prize," Rosa said with a laugh before her expression turned from a sunny happy one, to that of cold and calculating. "Team Plasma thought N Harmonia would have been captured by the League long before this, but he surprised us by staying on the run. I can't wait to see the looks on the Elite Four's faces when they realize what just happened."

"That's why a twenty-six-year-old has been hanging out with a couple of teenagers," Hugh said softly. "Ivory Greystorm and Bianca Taylor are his only friends outside of Team Plasma. You stayed around them to see if he would come back to see them."

"And, it worked. We kept making sure Bianca and Ivory had run-ins with neo Team Plasma on their journeys and made sure the Striaton attack went international. When he hadn't been showing up, we decided to kill one of his stupid friends for the League to see. We chose Ivory so we could test Colress' device and give N more motivation to either turn himself in or come back to fight. Poor Alex and Jenna were disappointed when they couldn't kill her, but N showed up and that's all we needed. Isn't it funny that he came as the deadbeat Nate Anderson of all people though?"

Hugh snapped, "Don't you dare make fun of Nate like that. You're the one that drove him to the alcohol and the gambling. He was a great trainer, and he was the best of all three of us. You may have been good, but Nate was on his way to becoming a Pokemon Master before you "reported" Pokemon abuse to Team Plasma. They stole all his Pokemon, and," Hugh's voice then caught in his throat as he finally said, "Then they gave them all to you. Ila's Nate's Pokemon you little Herdier. You'd never be a good enough trainer to have raised someone like her."

"Hmm… that's the great things about pokeballs and Whisperers isn't it," Rosa said happily. "It was Peter who made Nate's Pokemon docile enough to capture, and the pokeball did everything else. I believe something similar happened to Evelyn's Purrloin, Amy."

"Shut up!" Hugh roared. "You're just… evil on so many levels. No wonder you like Team Plasma so much. You must find a lot of kindred spirits there. I can't believe I was ever friends with you as a kid."

Rosa smirked said softly. "We used to say that we three were closer than a Whisperer was to their bonded Pokemon. It's why I'd rather not hurt you, but I will if it comes to it."

"I won't let Team Plasma win," Hugh said forcefully.

Rosa rolled her eyes and said, "Can't you see that we've already won? The League never stood a chance against Lord Ghetsis. You should see him when he plans, it's quite impressive because he remembers all the details about his enemies. League members will be powerless against Dr. Colress' device, and once we have N, all of Unova will be powerless against the might of the Legendaries. Hugh, stop fighting against us and come join us. Why continue fighting for the losing team?"

Hugh said nothing as he stared at Rosa in disgust, "The real question is: Why do what is morally correct? I won't join Team Plasma because they lie, they cheat, they debase, they murder, they scheme, and they'll do anything to get power. All of us will one day die regardless of whether we had fame or fortune, but not all of us die with a clear conscious. I'd rather die an honest and good man than an amoral, selfish monster who thinks of nothing but themselves."

"Wrong choice," Rosa said softly. Hugh jumped when he felt someone suddenly standing behind him, but he could do nothing as the Triad grabbed him and teleported him away.

Rosa smirked as she typed a text, "Operation checkmate is a go," which she sent to Dr. Colress and the Seven Sages.

**A/N: Oh No! Cue Admiral Ackbar: "It's a trap!" Too bad he's in a galaxy far far away where no one in the pokeverse can hear him.**

**Okay, I know you guys probably hate me for making Rosa evil, but has no one ever thought there's something weird about a sixteen-year-old (bulbapedia lists her age as 16) that has her hair in buns and pigtails? Just looking at that sweet, kind face and you know there's something off about her. I actually love Rosa, but I definitely don't in this AU fanfiction I'm writing.**

**I've always loved Hugh when I played B2W2. He just seemed like such a good guy and he honestly has the best goals of all the rivals in all the games. He just wants to get his sister's Purrloin back and he's happy that you're strong enough to beat him. I like to think of Hugh as this rock of integrity and goodness even though he can be a bit crazy in his need for revenge.**

**Also, N was not a good guy when he was taking over the Region. Hugh's memory is how I personally feel how all the League (and the Region) view N. Even though he was Ghetsis' puppet, he was complicit in Team Plasma's plans and he's horrifyingly powerful when he has access to a Legendary. He's a threat to the Unova Region and all the Regions which is why the United Regions had their best Pokemon Masters go after him.**

**As always, please R&R. If you hated this chapter and what I did to Rosa, let me know. If you loved it, let me know. If you're scared about what's going to happen to N and Ivory, let me know.**

**Imaginair: *Evil laughter* I can't wait till you read the next couple of chapters…**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

"Nate!" I called to N as I ran down after him once Hugh had finally gone to make his phone call. I sprinted through the city and by a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetable markets that were running alongside Driftveil City's waterway. "Nate," I said as I finally caught up to N and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hey, you're not skipping town, are you?"

N turned around and looked at me as he nervously bit his lip, "No. Even though I probably should. That Hugh person definitely knows who I am." N's eyes flickered down slightly, and he looked away as if he were ashamed. He then straightened and said, "But I knew the risks when I decided to come back. I knew it wouldn't be long before the League found my identity and that I'm in the Unova Region. I'm still going to do whatever I can to stop Team Plasma. No matter the danger."

I again felt a slight fear spread through me as he said this, and I said "Are you sure about this? There will be other opportunities to fight neo Team Plasma. You could leave town, get a new disguise, and come back to fight another day."

N shook his head and said, "We might not get another chance like this one. Team Plasma is already powerful enough as it is. They've managed to create a device to control both wild and captured Pokemon and there's a very real possibility that the informant won't be able to sabotage it in time which will leave the League vulnerable. I can use my powers against them to not only help the League but also potentially cripple some of Team Plasma's operations. If there's a chance I can do anything to help stop them, I'm going to take it."

N then turned to gaze at a family of five whose parents were wrangling their three young kids who were chasing a small Patrat around. The youngest girl finally caught the Patrat and squealed about how much she loved it. N again looked away guiltily and said, "I at least owe the Unovans that."

I pursed my lips in slight disagreement as I said, "N, you don't have to recklessly risk your life and future like this for what you did. Remember that you're also a victim of Team Plasma since they basically manipulated and brainwashed you so that you would use your powers to summon Zekrom and control Pokemon during their takeover. They're still probably targeting you which is why we both have to be focused and cautious tonight."

"I know," N said as we began walking together through the marketplace, our hands practically touching from how close we were. "But the longer I stay in Unova, the more dangerous it becomes for me. I have to act quickly if I want to make any impact on stopping Team Plasma."

By this point we had walked along the railing close to Driftveil drawbridge as the sun slowly set casting it's dying light on the blue waters beneath. I watched as a Pelipper lazily glided through the air seemingly to enjoy the light breeze when suddenly it dove down to the waters below and snatched up a Basculin. I shuddered slightly as I watched the Pokemon swallow the other whole before casually flying further away down to Driftveil's port. I shook my head slightly to shake off the slight chill that had swept through me and said, "I just hope we can stop Team Plasma for good. They're so awful."

After we had stood their in silence for a while, our hands and shoulders practically touching, I said, "N… there's something I need to tell you about Hugh. He asked me to make sure you were at the raid… I… um… agreed. It means the League will probably arrest you before the raid of Team Plasma."

"I figured he'd do something like that. If they arrest me before the League, they won't allow me to help attack Team Plasma." He straightened a little as he turned to me and said, "Ivory, I have a favor to ask you. When you go to the Gym, tell Hugh that I ran. I'll find a way to sneak onto the docks before or during the raid tonight so I can help."

I bit my lip worriedly after he said this. The idea of N sneaking onto the docks without any backup aside from Trixie was terrifying to me. He'd be alone with a bunch of neo Team Plasma members and League members running around the port, and even though he could probably go through all of them without problem, a part of me was terrified of someone sneaking up on him when he or Trixie weren't prepared. "Maybe I could go to the Gym and see what's happening before you do that. I could talk to Hugh and try to explain the situation to him. Maybe we could make a deal and tell him that you'll turn yourself in if he lets you help…"

N didn't say anything for a moment as he considered what I said, "I'd rather not turn myself into the League, but…" he then handed me a pokeball to me and said, "Tell Arrow what's happening with the League and give him your opinion. I'll trust your judgement on this."

As he handed me Arrow's pokeball, I muttered, "No pressure. Just hand me a decision that'll affect the rest of your life."

N smiled a little as he said, "Well, I've trusted your judgment before. Besides, we might find a better solution before the raid. If I come up with a better idea, I'll send a letter to you with a Pidove… it's too bad you can't talk to Pokemon. Then we could send messages back and forth all the time without worrying our messages would be intercepted."

"We can't all be that special kid with super powers," I teased gently as I leaned my head onto N's shoulder.

N chuckled a little as he took my hand in his own so that our fingers laced together. "Trust me, the powers aren't worth it. Not when everyone wants to use them for their own gain."

We both continued to watch the sun gently fall towards the horizon. With each passing moment, I felt more and more anxious about the raid tonight. I could feel N's own anxiety as he started to grip my hand more tightly and I could almost feel his body start to tense.

All was quiet aside from the Wingull screeching at each other. That is until we heard some people arguing angrily with each other. We both looked over at the bridge that connects to Driftveil's drawbridge and saw a couple of people arguing with a few members of neo Team Plasma. Both of us glanced at each other before we mutually let go of each other's hand and ran over to where they were.

As we approached, I heard the one in front of the neo Team Plasma members say, "Why won't you see reason!? Team Plasma's going to rule the Unova Region just like it almost did before. You supported our cause then, why won't you now?"

"We joined Team Plasma so that we could help Pokémon and create a world where they could live peacefully with humans," one of the former Team Plasma members insisted. "Neo Team Plasma's destroying people's lives and destroying Pokémon's habitats."

I watched one of the neo members role her eyes and say, "Whatever. We're also doing this for the Pokémon. We're just having to use force now that the citizens will no longer listen to us. We'll still create a world where only Team Plasma members have Pokémon and the rest are free to roam in the wild."

"Please, Tracey," another former member said quietly. "We just want to help the few Pokémon we can. We don't want to get involved in another takeover. Especially when our Majesty the hero himself has rejected our cause."

At this all the neo members looked like they were about to explode with rage. One roared, "Don't you dare mention that traitor's name! Our Lord Ghetsis had a glorious vision of the future, but N was too weak to see it through. Team Plasma gave him everything, and he rejected it all."

"Isn't that proof that Lord Ghetsis' vision wasn't good," the former member continued. "If Lord N deemed it unworthy, then it is your fault that you're continuing to reject that verdict."

Tracey then said gently, "Cassandra, I know you had just recently joined Team Plasma's knights, and the next thing you know, N's summoning Zekrom and defeating the League, but you can't keep believing that hero myth. N's just a stupid kid who only thought about himself and what he wanted. He abandoned all of you after the League came to arrest him. All of you were sent to jail and put on parole where you're serving your time here in Driftveil. Did he do anything to stop that? No. Does he even care? No. Stop wasting your time thinking that he's a hero. Come back to Team Plasma and follow the man that was in charge the entire time and won't leave us to rot."

Cassandra looked around at the other members in confusion. Tears formed in her eyes, and she said, "I-I don't know-"

"Don't listen to them," another former member said. "Remember, they're still terrorists that destroy people's lives."

"They're necessary sacrifices for a greater good," a neo member snarled. "You said the same thing, Carl. When you would give the new members their Pokemon, you told them it was a necessary evil to use Pokemon as weapons for the sake of Team Plasma's vision."

"And I was wrong," Carl snapped. "I was nothing more than a hypocrite which is what you all are. You want to establish a better order of government, but you break the law to do it."

"You don't know how corrupt the Sages and the admins are," another former member insisted. "They're ruthless and evil. That's how they'll run their government as well. They'll rule the people with an iron fist, and they'll execute anyone that stands in their way."

"Then don't stand in our way," a neo member piped up. "It's that simple."

N and I had finally reached where they were arguing, and I yelled, "Hey, get away from them."

The neo Team Plasma turned to glare at us, and one of them yelled, "This is none of your business, you brats. Go back home."

"No," N said authoritatively as he stood defensively between neo Team Plasma and the former members. "Leave them alone. They've made the right choice in leaving Team Plasma and choosing not to side with a bunch of terrorists that are ruining this Region. Team Plasma once was meant to be a beacon of hope for Pokemon and humans alike, now it's nothing more than a means of destruction. You ask them why they've left, but I'll ask you why you haven't. Can't you see all the lives you're ruining by doing this? You're tearing Unova apart until all that'll remain is suffering and sorrow."

"Yes," one of the neo Team Plasma members said, "And after that, we'll rise up in the wake of that destruction and make an even better Unova. Sometimes you have to burn the forest to get the new, healthier trees."

N shook his head, "I refuse to sit back and watch you murder countless thousands just for some egotistical maniac to gain power. You think you're doing Unova a favor by putting Team Plasma in power but look who's at the head of your group. A bunch of murderers who are willing to lie and cheat to get what they want. They may say that the ends justify the means, but it's the small actions we do every day that define who we are. They've lied their entire lives. They're lying to you, and they'll lie to all the people of Unova. The government you're creating will be corrupt from its inception and it will only get worse. And…," N said as he glanced back at Cassandra. "It would have been just as bad with your king at the head of it… he was wrong too… and… blinded by his own ego."

"You don't know what you're talking about, kid," one of the neo members snapped.

"Yes, I do," N insisted. "Team Plasma has already ruined your lives by making you wanted criminals. Don't let them use you to hurt other people. Please, leave neo Team Plasma."

"Ahhh," one of the neo Team Plasma members said sarcastically while putting his hand over his heart, "That was so sincere that it made me want to leave the organization that will ultimately win and take over the Region."

Tracey walked forward to N and said, "Kid, you can't fight us. Team Plasma will win, it's just a matter of how many people will stand in our way. Why not join us? Stop some of the destruction by following rather than fighting."

"Never," N snapped. "Besides, you won't win."

The neo Team Plasma members just chuckled, and Tracey said, "Cassandra, after tonight, I think you'll change your mind about which side you want to be on. When you do, you know where to find us. Same offer goes for you, Carl and Anya." Tracey then glanced at N, and said, "Nice chatting with you kid."

The four of them sauntered off without even blinking an eye when they walked by a couple of pedestrians who huddled away from them when they went by. "They're so bold," I said. "They're not even afraid of being seen in broad daylight and acting like victory's in the bag." For some reason this really made me nervous which made me instinctively draw closer to N.

"Hey, thanks for the help," Carl said to N as he offered his hand in handshake. "Most people wouldn't have been brave enough to do that."

"You're welcome," N said as he accepted the handshake, "I'm sure you don't get enough recognition for your bravery for leaving Team Plasma."

Anya nodded, and said, "Neo Team Plasma's awful. They keep attacking us in our homes in Driftveil and then they'll come and tell us things like how the League will only see us as a bunch of criminals, and that people will always hate us." Anya looked down as she said, "The sad thing is, I kind of believe them. But that doesn't change the fact that Neo Team Plasma are a bunch of evil terrorists. They may accept us, but they'll expect us to become monsters like themselves."

Cassandra was looking sadly down the bridge where Tracey and the other neo members had left. She said quietly, "It's also hard because so many former members are rejoining. Tracey and I used to be close friends. We were the ones that filmed the battle between Lord N and the League, and we both left when he did. Unfortunately, Tracey was a higher rank than I was which meant she was constantly being interrogated, and a lot of people claimed she should be thrown in jail since she had known so much. It wasn't just her, there were a lot of other higher up members that were being treated cruelly by the citizens. Not too long ago, Sage Bronious and a couple of neo Team Plasma members came to our new headquarters and began trying to recruit as many of us as possible. It was during the attack on Striaton, so the League was distracted and didn't stop them in time before they had gotten several of the former members back on their side including Tracey."

"They haven't left us alone since," Anya said quietly while looking down at her hands. "A bunch of them come around and harass us or try and convince us to join."

"All they want from people like us is manpower," Carl grumbled, "What they're really after are the Whisperers who've refused to rejoin."

"You mean Aria, Isaac, Max, Lisa, and Ella?" I asked suddenly. They all looked at me curiously and I explained, "I used to intern at Team Plasma."

"Yeah," Cassandra said. "All five of them left when Lord N did, and none of them have even thought about returning. They're working on rebuilding what Team Plasma once was. Right now, we're mainly focusing on helping and rehabilitating abused Pokemon, but we're trying to reestablish ourselves as a political entity so we can start fighting for Pokemon rights again."

"That's wonderful," I said enthusiastically. "Then you can help rebuild all the good Team Plasma once did."

"Yep, if we can get the League to trust us enough, they might even let us try to go on another Team Rocket raid," Carl said brightly. "Unfortunately, that probably won't happen any time since so many of us are deserting to neo Team Plasma, but once they're out of the way, we could be a force of good again."

"I hope you can," I said sincerely. "I'd love to see the day when the real Team Plasma makes its comeback."

* * *

"Remember, we'll be docking in Driftveil port soon and we need you all to be prepared," Alex instructed a group of Plasma members. "This should be a standard deal, but we've heard chatter that there has been a suspiciously large amount of League members there which may lead into a fight. We don't think they know about our deal here in Driftveil, but we can't be sure. Since you're all some of our best trainers, we expect you to guard Dr. Colress for his final operation and make sure nothing goes wrong. Understood?"

"Yes, Admin Alex," the Plasma members chorused.

"Alright, gear up. I expect you all to report at the ramp at about twenty-three hundred."

"Yes, sir," they said once more as they got up to leave the briefing room and back to the supply area of the ship to stock up on potions and revives. Alice trailed quietly behind them before she quickly slipped away from them. She waited for a while before glancing at her watch and seeing that it was almost 11:40 and that the deal would be happening exactly at midnight. The ship should be docked and the Plasma members would be there to patrol the surrounding area and check for security.

Alice breathed deeply as she leaned up against the side of the ship's steel wall. 'It's now or never,' she thought to herself as she moved down the artificially lit corridor. She walked down a pair of metal stairs that seemed to clang and echo down the deserted hallway.

Her breath quickened as she walked down the hall and past a couple of surly looking guards. She'd only been here a few times when she had been instructed to give Dr. Colress something or help escort him around outside the frigate. She rounded the corner and came to the state-of-the-art security system that blocked the laboratory from the rest of the frigate. She'd only ever been able to go through the first part of the lab before being instructed to stop and wait for Dr. Colress to come to her. 'They'll know it's me after this,' Alice thought gloomily. She knew that this was the League's big chance to stop Team Plasma, but that didn't stop her from feeling terrified of getting caught.

She walked up to the door's facial recognition and let it scan her before pressing her hand against the scanner. She watched her face as it was scanned, it looked pale and frightened. Alice rounded her shoulders and put up her chin defiantly. She heard the click of the door as it opened, and she walked inside.

The interior of the lab had a white floor and walls with large open windows that showed the inside of labs that held a variety of machinery as well as a few researchers examining data and speaking to each other. Alice quickly walked down the lab past a few more guards to the most secure area of the frigate where Dr. Colress and his select team worked. Only Ghetsis and the Sages were able to come without needing special clearance. Even Alex and Jenna needed permission to come down here. Plasma members that came down here on a regular basis like Peter and Jackson were only allowed to come here at certain times.

"Hey, what are you doing?" one of the guards asked as he saw her about to open the inner doors of the lab.

She froze as she reached into the inner jacket to undo the lid of a jar. She then spun around and spat, "Ending Team Plasma." Alice threw a large amount of Dream Mist at the guards who were about to grab her. They both coughed and spluttered as the Dream Mist hit them and Alice hissed, "Now stay here on guard and don't make any attempt to let anyone know I'm down here."

"Okay," both of them said happily as they returned to their posts. Alice turned back and entered into the inner laboratory. The first thing she noticed when she entered was how cold it was. It was as if she had just walked out into the night air during a chilly winter evening. 'No wonder Dr. Colress wears so many layers during July,' Alice thought as she shivered slightly. She also noticed that the lab had taken on the familiar black floors and walls. There were also several labs, but these ones had even more complex machinery and fewer scientists.

Alice made her way down the dark hallway until she rounded to a corner that opened up to a large glass cage that filled the entire room. Inside the glass walls was the scariest creature Alice had ever seen. It had blank yellow eyes that stared at her unseeingly, and a fierce looking head and body. 'That… it's from mythology,' Alice thought. 'That's… that's Kyurem. The ice and dragon type god of Unova. It once housed the spirits of both Reshiram and Zekrom.'

Being in Kyurem's presence was nowhere near as awe inspiring as Zekrom. Zekrom's body had radiated and surged with energy and vitality. His eyes had danced with fire and passion to change the human world to the one Lord N saw. When Lord N and Zekrom's auras had merged, Zekrom became even more powerful and seemed even more like a god to be worshipped. This creature staying pathetically in the cage was nothing like that. It had no life within it, and it seemed more like a husk or a shell of something greater.

Still, it was incredible that neo Team Plasma had a Legendary at all. Alice vaguely wondered how that had happened, but she was more concerned about how she would report this to the League. She slowly walked around the circular room and noticed that Kyurem's gaze followed her as she walked around going so far as to shift its hulking body to face her.

Alice momentarily halted to stare at the creature. She hesitantly put one of her gloved hands on the glass which caused Kyurem to snort out a blast of energy that made the glass where her hand was crystalize in intricate patterns from the ice. Alice pulled her hand away and went back to looking at the different labs until she found one that had a monitor displaying brain and energy frequencies.

She pushed open the door and walked into Dr. Colress' lab where she saw him tinkering with what appeared to be a cane that was currently attached to a variety of wires. Colress stopped moving when he heard the door close behind Alice, and he turned to face her. His yellow eyes lit up in surprise when he saw Alice's figure standing in front of him. He set down the cane and turned fully to face her. "Alice… what are you doing here?" Colress asked softly as he studied her as if she were a specimen.

"Dr. Colress," Alice said respectfully as she bowed her head slightly. "Lord Ghetsis told me to get the device you're working on for our operation tonight at Driftveil."

"Did he now? That's strange. He'd just told me that we wouldn't be needing it," Dr. Colress continued to look at Alice before he asked, "Why don't you tell me why you're really here."

Alice felt herself go cold for a bit, but she reassuringly squeezed the powdery pink Dream Mist she had taken from her jar before she came in here. "I'm sorry Dr. Colress, but I'm going to be taking you and your device with me." She then threw the dust at his face causing him to cough and splutter. She quickly grabbed his arm while he was incapacitated by the Dream Mist and yanked the device off his arm. Alice stared at it for a second, but all she could see were a bunch of lines rising and falling in troughs and apexes.

Alice yanked Dr. Colress by the lab coat and said, "Now, tell anyone you meet that I'm with you. We're going to the League together."

Colress looked slightly dazed, but he shook his head, "I can't leave my research. Especially not now when it's about to get so interesting."

"Too bad," Alice snarled. "Now come. We don't have all-"

"Alice, I'm so disappointed in you," Alice heard Jenna's voice say. Alice stiffened as she turned around and saw Jenna standing next to a Shadow Triad member who was blocking her way to the lab's exit. Alice quickly grabbed her jar full of Dream Mist, but Katashi teleported next to her and grabbed it from her before teleporting back behind Jenna. Jenna glanced at Colress and said, "Are you doing alright, doctor?"

Colress was busy shaking his head before saying, "I think so… but I wasn't expecting the effect to be quite so powerful. I'll have to work harder to break its affects if this ever happens again."

Alice ignored them all and powerfully threw the device to the ground and smashed it with her foot. "Have fun stopping the League without this," Alice snarled.

"Oh dear, she broke my portable energy frequency device," Colress said dryly. "I guess I'll need to get a new one now."

"The device isn't here," Jenna told Alice coldly. "We knew you'd be coming all along. We weren't sure when or how, but we knew you'd try and somehow sabotage the device."

Alice grabbed her pokeballs, and hissed, "Who told you? How did you find out?"

"Oh please. Virbank, Striaton, and Castelia. It was obvious someone was leaking information about our deals. We knew it was a member that was directly under us admins, but we didn't know who until just now. It's over Alice."

"Go to the Distortion World you sick, twisted monsters," Alice spat. "If I'm going down, then I'm taking you with me." She then yelled, "Let's go, Mason!" as she hurled out her pokeball with her Escalviar, but instead of bursting out in a ray of light and energy, the pokeball flew across the room and uselessly bounced off the wall and rolled on the ground.

Katashi and Jenna chuckled at the display while Colress said, "This lab is wired with electrical impulses that prevent you from unleashing your Pokemon. You may have noticed that even the guards surrounding this area don't have any Pokemon. That's because there are absolutely no Pokemon allowed in this area and the entire vicinity is sprayed on a daily basis with Max Repels."

"You should never have betrayed us," Jenna said. "Now, it's time to pay the price."

**A/N: SnowCatt: Thanks for the review and I have to say that what I love about AUs is that they give you so much more freedom to write since you don't have to stick to a set character or a certain storyline. You can do whatever you want!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

**A/N: Just to warn you guys, this is a pretty dark chapter. As in there will be people dying. And now, to the chapter!**

The lights by Driftveil city's port had all flickered on as the night went on. Clay walked past the shining lights of the World Tournament where cheers could still be heard of ongoing matches towards the dimmer flickering lights of the dark port where dozens of dark ships loomed ominously in the night sky while stacks of cargo and storage units dotted the area. At the entrance of the docks stood two figures talking to each other in low voices.

"Where's the other one?" Clay asked gruffly.

Black and Cheren turned around to face Clay. Cheren said truthfully, "We don't know where Hugh is… he didn't come to the Gym at all. Black, Bianca, Ivory, and I waited there for over an hour and he never showed up."

"He's also not answering his phone. In fact, my phone says that it can't connect to it at all," Black said worriedly. "I hope nothing bad happened to him."

"The Elite Four are also worried," Clay said quietly. "Our informant did send you that text that everything was a go though."

"Yeah, she texted that she couldn't reach Hugh, so she just sent us the information. She's going to be accompanying Colress to the meeting which should be happening near storage unit C, and that she's made sure the device doesn't work," Black explained.

"She also said that we needed to be on the lookout for a bunch of well-trained Plasma members that would be patrolling the perimeter. She mentioned that Alex and Jenna would probably be there."

"Did she mention the frigate? The last time she talked to Hugh, she said the frigate was going to dock here."

"I asked her, but she said that it wasn't going to come until a little later. She advised taking down Colress and their members first before taking on the frigate."

"Hmm… well, the Elite Four are already here," Clay said slowly. "I guess we'll go forward with our plan even without Hugh. I don't like it though. Hugh's our best operative and our go to man when it comes to criminals and corrupt trainers."

"Yeah, he's pretty awesome," Black said earnestly.

"I hope he's okay," Cheren said quietly.

Clay glanced at his watch and said, "It's five minutes to midnight. Neo Team Plasma's had their fun sneaking around my docks. Now it's time for retribution. I'll alert the Elite Four and they'll cover the seas and sky. Our police force and volunteer trainers will all be covering the storage units, warehouses, and docks. We're not going to let one of them get away this night."

Cheren and Black then both put in their earpieces and tuned into the League's communication system and Black said, "Black Greystorm at the front of Driftveil port along with Cheren and Clay."

"We hear you Black," Grimsley replied. "I'm covering the water, Caitlin's covering the sky, and Shauntel is covering the warehouses with her ghost type Pokemon. They should be able to detect any of the Shadow Triad's movements if they teleport here. Marshal is up by the docks already. He hasn't seen anything yet… which is strange. I'm not sure how they're planning on coming here."

Clay looked back and saw as several police officers pulled up in their cruisers and dozens of trainers came to help with covering the area. Black glanced up and saw his sister and the other kid… Nate… walking closely together beside Rosa and Bianca. Black noticed that Ivory glanced up at the Nate guy and smiled. Black arched his eyebrow, 'When did that happen?' Ivory hadn't been interested in anyone since N left last year, but now… this. She wouldn't give that smile or look at him like that if he was just a friend. Black bit his lip as he thought about what Hugh had said to Nate earlier. Like an accusation. Nate did seem familiar to him, but…

"Hey, Black," Ivory said as she walked up to him. "Are you ready to kick some neo Team Plasma tail to the moon and back?"

"Forget the moon," Black shot back. "I'm going to beat them so bad they'll go to the Distortion World to cry with Giratina."

"I'm coming too," Bianca piped up. She pushed the rim of her red glasses up and adjusted her hat before squarely placing her hands on her hips and standing proudly as if she were a superhero.

"Are you sure," Black asked. "I mean, your Pokemon aren't very high levels. I don't want you getting hurt."

Bianca said, "I'm scared, but I'll have the police officers and other trainers to help. Besides, I have to face my fears. I have to face scary opponents again."

"I can come with you," Black offered. "I mean, I know you can handle this, but I wouldn't mind being there to help you. I mean, if you need it."

Bianca smiled and said, "Thanks Black, but I should be fine."

Ivory suddenly elbowed Bianca and whispered something in her ear which made Bianca blush a little. "Oh, I mean, I'd really like that. Can I be in your group?"

Black looked back at Clay who was taking count of all the volunteers and police officers there and was currently assigning groups, "Sure," Black said. "You'll all probably be divided up. Ivory, since you're a Whisperer, you'll probably be the one that goes without another trainer while the rest can go with one. So it'll be me and Bianca, but Cheren can come with us since we're probably not going with many police officers."

"And Nate and I can go together in a group," Rosa said as she linked her arm around Nate's arm and pushed Ivory out of the way a little. "It'll be nice to reconnect after all these years."

"Okay, it's settled then. I'll tell Clay," Cheren said as he walked over to Clay. Cheren spoke to him for a moment before returning and saying, "Okay, Clay says that Nate and Rosa will take the east side of the port with officers John, Rick, and Barton. Your task is to find any of the neo Team Plasma lookouts and take them out. Ivory, you're going to go with officers Mike, Jake, and Rachel. Black, myself, Bianca, and officer Seth will take us to the front dock area so we'll be ready to fight any members coming out of the frigate."

"Alright, we'll be going then," Rosa said as she grabbed Nate's arm and dragged him with her to where the other officers were standing. She looked back at them and said, "See ya!" Nate looked back at them and smiled before he turned to talk to the officers.

"Rosa's acting kind of weird," Bianca commented. "I think she wants hardcore revenge because she's gotten really excited for this evening."

"Yeah… it's weird," Ivory said, and Black could tell she sounded a little hurt by it.

"Anyway, let's go to our own groups."

* * *

"Isn't this so exciting Nate," Rosa said excitedly as she put away her phone and slipped her arm around N's again. "This will be such a breeze for you to take down those nasty neo Team Plasma members what with you being a Pokemon Master and all!"

N blushed and tried to pull away from Rosa's close proximity, but she still clung to his arm as she chattered away about what she would do after neo Team Plasma was gone. N tried to ignore her, but it was difficult when she wrapped her arm around his waist. N blushed furiously as he thought, 'Does she have to keep her hand so low and close to my belt and my-' N shook his head, and tried to think about how he would get to the docks when neo Team Plasma's frigate came so that he could use his powers to summon the help of the water type Pokemon in bringing it down. He was just wondering how many Gyradose lived in these waters when the officers turned to look at them, and one of them said to Rosa, "I'm going to ask you to quiet down and to keep your cellphone turned off. The last thing we want is for it to ring or light up and give away our location."

Rosa smiled as she turned off her phone and whispered, "Of course, Officer Barton."

"Just remember, we have no idea what level Pokemon they have, and they'll definitely fight dirty. Be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. The Elite Four will be the ones that take down the heavy hitters of neo Team Plasma while we take out all the other Rattatas. Got it?"

N and Rosa nodded, and they followed the officers out to a more isolated area along the edge of the port where they heard the gentle waves of the sea along with the flickering lights of the overhead lamps. Other than that, it was eerily quiet. N noticed Trixie's Pokemon form as she darted between the shadows of each warehouse as she silently stalked them. Luckily, the police officers didn't seem to see anything, and Rosa didn't either.

Ten minutes passed by with no sound or commotion, "It's strange," one of the officers commented. "It feels like we should've heard something by now. It's already past twelve."

Suddenly, they heard a clang from up ahead near an abandoned looking storage unit. The officers stopped and pulled out their pokeballs while N and Rosa did the same thing. They cautiously stalked forward when they saw a flicker of a shadow again, but this time it darted into the storage unit.

One of the officers radioed in, "We might have a suspect here. We're unable to make out a face or gender, but they just ran into unit D in sector 8. Has there been anything on your end?"

"We've run into a couple of neo Team Plasma members, but most of them are runners rather than fighters. We have a few in custody now. However, we haven't seen anything relating to the deal yet."

"Alright, we're about to engage," the officer reported as they stealthily made their way forward. "You two stay behind as we go in. We might need you as backup."

The officers crept into the dark opening of the storage unit and flicked on their flashlights as they stealthily walked inside. N felt Trixie jump defensively by his side as his hands anxiously gripped his pokeballs. "All clear," one of the officers called, but there's something kind of weird here."

"What do you mean," Rosa asked as she walked into the storage unit with N closely trailing behind her. They walked into the pitch-black unit aside from the few beams of light coming from the officer's flashlights.

"This is weird," the officer said as he gestured towards a table, the only object in the entire storage unit that had an object in it. On top of the table was a game of chess that appeared to have already been played. "I'm not really into chess so I don't know what's going on here, but this is just weird."

N moved forward and examined the pieces closely before he felt a sudden chill rush over him and a sickly sense of familiarity. As he examined the pieces closely, he realized where he'd seen the game before. 'This is… my game. My game all those years ago against… him,' N thought in horror as he noticed all the pawns and knights moved against one side while the other had a lone knight right where the king's piece should have been. N gasped and backed away as Trixie yelled, _"N there's something wrong. Can't you feel it?"_

N heard the door to the storage unit suddenly slam shut as the eerily familiar feeling came over him again. 'It wasn't the game that made me feel like this,' N thought. 'It's the same chill I've for a long time… the Shadow Triad.'

"What in the Distortion World is going on here?" one of the officers asked. "The door's locked!"

N immediately tried to send out his Pokemon, but each pokeball he grabbed was… empty? As he was going through all his pokeballs, the Shadow Triad teleported behind the officers holding daggers which they viciously slashed across the officers' throats. Trixie lunged forward at the Shadow Triad so swiftly that she was nothing more than a black blur, but they teleported away before she could get them leaving behind the officers to fall to the floor where they lay in a thickening pool of their own crimson blood. N backed away in silent horror, the screams he so wanted to cry caught in his throat as he felt a wave of nausea sweep over him as the metallic scent of blood reached him. The room had also become nearly pitch black aside from the skewed light coming from flashlights which lay next to the officers' corpses. N saw Trixie stand defensively in front of him with her fur standing on end as she gave a threatening, guttural growl at the Shadow Triad's hidden figures.

N felt as if his body had gone completely numb with terror as he backed against the wall and felt his heart hammering inside of him. He quickly fumbled with his jacket pocket where he kept his berry pouch. He distantly heard Rosa's footsteps echo in the small enclosed storage unit as she bent down and grabbed one of the officer's flashlights with the least amount of blood. She gave N her most winning smile as he subtly pulled out an Oren berry from his berry pouch. "Gee, Nate it's a real pity about those Pokemon of yours," Rosa said as she smiled at him coyly. "You suddenly only have empty pokeballs without your friends in them. You don't think someone could have stolen them, do you?"

"You," N said softly. "When we were talking… you replaced all my pokeballs…" N stared at Rosa for a moment, "You're with Team Plasma."

Rosa smirked, "Bingo. You should really be more careful about who you trust, your Majesty."

_"I'm going to kill you, you little Herdier_," Trixie roared as she used foul play to dash across the floor and generate dark energy that encompassed her body before she was intercepted by an Absol and then a Bisharp who viciously slashed her across the chest and sent her flying across the storage unit by N making a huge dent in the metal frame.

"Trixie," N cried as she struggled to her feet and went to attack again. N gave a final shaky breath as he heard Trixie's cries of pain from the attacks given from the soulless Pokemon of the Shadow Triad. 'Goodbye Ivory,' he thought as he shoved the Oren berry towards his mouth, but before the poisonous berry could reach his lips, he felt the strong grip of a gloved hand on his wrist and an arm twist around his waist and other arm.

"We won't let you escape that easily," N heard Osamu harshly whisper in his ear as in one fluid movement he twisted N's wrist causing N to both scream out in pain and drop the Oren berry as a sickening snap filled the storage unit.

_"N!"_ Trixie cried desperately as she fought a pair of Bisharp and an Absol viciously. She tried to run over to him, but the Absol had tackled Trixie before she could get close. The Absol grabbed her by the scruff of her neck like Pokemon did with their young and turned her to face one of the Bisharp who proceeded to use slash over and over again on Trixie's screaming form.

"Trixie," N shouted as Osamu pressed a white cloth against N's mouth. N struggled and held his breath, but Osamu's grip on him was too tight for him to break free. Eventually, N breathed in the sweet fumes of sleeping powder causing his vision to blur as he lay limply in Osamu's arms. He blearily watched as the Absol dropped a now still Trixie onto the floor and desperately tried to reach her in his now foggy mind, but he couldn't get through. His vision faded to blackness as Osamu scooped him up in his arms.

"Sweet nightmares, little king," Osamu whispered. "When you wake up, it'll all be worse."

* * *

"The Shadow Triad are here," Shauntel's voice sounded over Black's intercom. "My Shuppet could sense them teleporting here. They appear to be in the eastern part of the port along the storage units. I'll have my Crobat use mean look on them, so they won't be able to teleport away. Who are the teams in that area?"

"Groups C and D," Clay's voice sounded. "We'll radio in each of them and warn them about the Shadow Triad. Odd place to come. The deal is supposed to be happening to the north by the docks."

"Well, they're already more than twenty minutes late to their own deal," Marshal's voice sounded dryly. "We've only gotten reports on a few neo Team Plasma members lurking around."

"I also haven't seen anything from up here and neither has Shauntel," Caitlin said.

"Is there anyone of importance in those two groups?" Grimsley asked suddenly.

"Well… we didn't necessarily run a thorough background check on all of them, but they seem okay," Clay said. "I'll look through the names of the volunteers. Macey, Chase, Raina, Rosa, and Nate. Raina used to be in Team Plasma, but in name only. She would come and help with a few raids and supply funding, but she never made it to their inner circle. I doubt the Shadow Triad would ever care about something like that."

"What about Nate and Rosa," Black asked. Black saw Bianca's eyes go wide as she turned to look at him when she heard him ask this.

"Um… let's see. Well… this Nate guy had a gambling and alcohol addiction, but it looks like he's turned around. He was registered as a student in Lumiose City University. Rosa… huh. That's odd. We have all the data about her being a trainer and even her social media account, but past that, nothing."

"It doesn't seem like a cause for the Shadow Triad to go after them," Caitlin said uncertainly. "Maybe our informant just got the information wrong and they're actually meeting on the east part of the harbor."

"Maybe," Grimsley replied. "We'll go check it out while the rest of you keep searching."

Black pursed his lips as he looked worriedly around at the empty warehouses. There was nothing here. Bianca walked by him when she saw he wasn't speaking to anyone anymore and whispered, "What's going on? Are Nate and Rosa okay?"

"I think so," Black replied. "It's just… the Shadow Triad are where they are."

Bianca physically paled, and her eyes widened in terror as she looked at Black, "Y-you don't think… don't think they know do you?"

"Know what, Bianca?" Black asked quietly as he turned to Bianca. "What do I need to know about them?"

Bianca looked worried as she looked to the ground, "Arceus, why do I have to choose between the two of you!? I'm sorry, Ivory. Black, Nate's-"

"Arceus! Oh my Arceus!" Black heard Cheren say who had been wandering farther from them along the marina with police officer Seth who had also started swearing. "Call the League! Arceus. Call this whole damn operation off!" Cheren cried.

"What!" Black yelled as he sprinted over to where they stood. Cheren looked completely ashen from what Black could see in the pale, yellow light of the lamp that shone above them. Seth also looked physically sick. Cheren turned to look at Black in complete distraught as he shakily raised his hand and pointed further down the marina by the docks.

There, in the circle of the lamp's light, lay two still figures side by side. Black hesitantly walked forward while Bianca had taken one sight of it and turned to retch over the side of the dock and into the water below. As Black approached, he could clearly make out the figures. One of them was Hugh. Hugh's eyes had been shut, and he lay there almost like he was asleep with his hands lying beside him. Next to him, was a lovely young lady that looked to be only slightly older than Black with curly brown hair, but her eyes were open and gazing into nothing but black abyss. She had been tossed unceremoniously down beside Hugh with her arms skewed in odd angles. She was also dressed in a neo Team Plasma uniform except that her Plasma symbol had been savagely ripped off her chest. Beneath their bodies was a circle in blue spray paint with the letters p and z running in the wrong direction. The Plasma insignia had been scrawled underneath their bodies like some sort of sick version of a pentagram.

Black felt himself visibly shudder as a sick feeling twisted inside his gut. He couldn't look at Hugh in the face, but he did notice that his hand was holding something. Black brought out a pair of latex gloves and slipped them on before he reached down to pry Hugh's hand open. In it was a chess piece. A rook. He glanced over at the Team Plasma member's body and saw that she too was also clutching a chess piece. He pried her hand open and saw that it was a pawn.

He knelt next to the bodies completely immobilized until he heard a soft ding from his phone. He checked it and saw that it was from their informant, "Game over."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

"Most probable cause of death for Hugh Huntington was a single stab to the chest, died instantly. Whoever did this didn't want him to feel anything when he died," the medic said as zipped up Hugh's body bag and had the gurney loaded on the ambulance. "This other one," the medic said as he turned to the neo Team Plasma member, "She's a different case. I'd say she was repeatedly attacked by a Pokemon."

"…Would you say a Bisharp could have done this," Grimsley asked solemnly as he stood to the side with the other Elite Four just outside the port of Driftveil City with a bunch of other volunteers and police officers who looked visibly shaken. The whirling red and blue lights from the police cruisers only made the situation seem even more grim than it already was.

Black could only stare numbly at the gurney where Hugh's body lay covered in a black body bag. He vaguely heard the medic say, "There's a very good possibility. Any Pokemon whose arms are more like knives like Scyther or Garchomp. Poor girl, they wanted her to feel every minute of it since none of her attacks hit any major organs or arteries. She bled painfully to death."

"The police officers' cause of death was pretty obvious," Marshal said quietly. "Arceus why couldn't we see this coming?"

"What happened to the trainers," Bianca asked shrilly as tears streamed down her face. She was clutching Black's hand so tightly that she was cutting off circulation, but Black didn't care. All he felt was numb. His other arm was holding his little sister tightly next to him as she sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. "Their names are Nate and Rosa! Are they okay!? I haven't seen them anywhere!"

Bianca began to cry more at this point as the Elite Four looked at them solemnly. Finally, Shauntel said, "I'm so sorry-"

"No, no, NO!" Ivory screamed as she fell against Black who let go of Bianca's hand so that he could keep Ivory from completely collapsing to the ground. Black couldn't find any words to comfort her as he held her in his arms and shudders wracked her body and she continued to sob. "No, Arceus, Reshiram, Zekrom, Dialga, anyone please save him from them. They can't have him."

Bianca had also begun to sob at this point, but Grimsley banged his hand against the ambulance door and roared, "Shut up!" This caused both Bianca and Ivory to look up at him in surprise while Nightstar leapt defensively from Ivory's shoulders to the ground and growled a little.

"Grimsley," Shauntel whispered, "They didn't mean any harm. They're victims too."

Grimsley still glared at Ivory lividly before calming down, and saying, "You're right. I'm sorry for my outburst."

Marshall also looked furious, but he said nothing as Caitlin turned to Clay and said authoritatively, "Disband the raid and send everyone home," she then turned to Black and the others and said, "Ivory and Black Greystorm, Cheren Amari, and Bianca Taylor, you're all coming with us back to the Pokemon League."

None of them said anything aside from Black and Cheren slowly nodding while Ivory continued to look down at Nightstar and Bianca clung to Black's sleeve. "I hope you don't mind flying," Marshal grumbled, "This is going to be a long one."

* * *

I felt numb as we entered the lovely, golden gates of the Pokemon League where Iris was there to meet us. She had huge bags under her eyes as if she hadn't gotten any sleep in the last couple of days. She barely looked at us as she ushered us into the League counsel room. I held Nightstar close to me as I felt his tiny body shudder in my arms from everything we'd just been through. I felt how upset and angry he was that he couldn't stop any of this.

They sat us down at an ornate table, and finally, Iris said, "What we're about to show and tell you is nothing less than disturbing."

"Please, just tell us what happened," Cheren said quietly.

"The three police officers found dead were all a part of Group D which Rosa and Nate were a part of. Rosa Benedict as you know her," Iris then pressed a clicker which flashed an image of the laughing smiling girl that I knew as Rosa. "And Nate Anderson," she again clicked and an image next to her popped up of a young man with tan skin, an athletic build, well-defined cheek bones, and confident brown eyes.

"That's not-" Cheren said slowly.

"I know that's not who you met," Iris said coldly, "But I think some of you already know that. This is who you four really met. Rosa Jenson," an image of an unsmiling girl with cold eyes and her shoulder length hair braided into pigtails. "From Aspertia City. Left on her journey eight years ago with her two friends Hugh Huntington and Nate Anderson."

"What!?" Bianca cried, "But she was going on a research journey with us! She's only eighteen!"

Iris shook her head, "No. She was an ace trainer and specialized in fast battles. She actually did really well in the Pokemon League Tournament, but she could never beat Nate, that is, until Team Plasma took his Pokemon away from him. She's disappeared ever since winning the League Tournament six years ago, and Hugh always suspected she joined Team Plasma."

"But…but she was our friend," Bianca whispered.

Marshal sighed, "She was neo Team Plasma's spy. You were her targets. We suspect she did it because she not only wanted to gather information from you but mainly be your friend in case N Harmonia would come back for you. She would be a friend of yours which would make it easier for her to win N's trust."

Iris sighed, "Unfortunately, their plan worked, and N did come for you." She clicked again and N's face popped up with the same long mane of green hair and slight smile at his lips. "This is the real Nate that you know. N Harmonia in disguise."

I glanced over at Black who was glaring at the table while Cheren looked shocked. Black said softly, "You two both knew, didn't you?"

I looked down at Nightstar as Bianca also looked away, "Yes," I said quietly.

"For how long?" Cheren demanded.

"Ever since he rescued us three days ago from neo Team Plasma in the sewers," I said softly.

Grimsley scoffed and said, "You knew he was here for three days and you didn't tell anyone." He shook his head and bit his lip to keep from saying more.

"Bianca only found out today when we drove up to Driftveil City on a bus," I added. "I'm the only one that you should blame for this."

"We're not placing blame anywhere besides with neo Team Plasma," Shauntel said firmly. Although she said that, I could see from the angry look Black and Cheren had as well as most of the Elite Four, that that sentiment was not widely shared.

"Anyways," Iris interjected. "We haven't gotten to the worst part." She clicked again, and an image appeared on the monitor that made me want to throw up. On it was an image of three bodies lying in a pool of blood with a table set up and neatly arranged game of chess. Written in blood over the game along the wall was the word, 'Checkmate.'

"Hugh and Alice had chess pieces in their hands," Black said slowly. "One of them was a rook and the other was a pawn. I-I also got a text from them saying 'game over.'"

"So, was this some sort of sick game to them!?" Bianca asked shrilly.

Iris rubbed her eyes and said, "This is Ghetsis' way of showing he's in power. When I met him before he escaped, he mentioned chess to me and how you have to plan ahead to win at chess. It's his way of arrogantly showing up the League, in literally the most humiliating way possible. Not only was he able to arrange this entire setup when we thought we were in control, he managed to take N Harmonia when he was completely surrounded by League members."

"It also fits symbolically," Shauntel added. "Ghetsis sees Iris as his opponent while all the League members and neo Team Plasma members are pieces of the game with N being the king both sides were aiming for. We even found chess pieces of the opposite colors on the neo Team Plasma members we managed to arrest during this horrible night. They all had pawn pieces."

"It's sick and wrong," I shouted. "Ghetsis should go to the Distortion World for this!"

"We'd all like that," Iris said tiredly. "The lab got more back from the scene while you were all midflight… most of the blood came from the dead police officers, but we did find traces of Zorua blood. We also found five empty pokeballs, Oren berries, and… a few photographs. We don't know what they all mean, but we know the photographs as are a message for you."

Grimsley then pulled out what looked like a small book, and Shauntel said, "If you don't want to look at this, we completely understand! I think that it's late and you should probably go to bed and-"

"No," Grimsley interrupted Shauntel. "They need the truth so that they can understand the consequences of lying." Grimsley glared at me for a moment before tossing me the book.

I looked down at it and saw that it was a pokejournal like the one Bianca had made for me. I realized that I had seen Rosa work on it occasionally during some of our evenings together, Bianca had always supported this and would even give occasional suggestions. I opened it and saw some pictures of us by Floccesy Ranch and on the road while we studied Pokemon. I turned the page and saw some more pictures of us in Castelia City. There was a picture of us with all our makeup done and in red ink it said, 'The night you basically admitted you were still in love with N.' I turned the page and felt myself go rigid when I saw it. There were pictures of us in the Castelia sewers with the caption, 'The day Team Plasma decided to kill you to get your boyfriend emotionally charged and come fight us like a complete idiot so that he'd be easy to capture. I'm personally glad it worked out this way and we got a fun game of Meowth and Pikachu instead.' The worst though were the pictures on the next page. They were pictures of N and I making out on Thumb Pier in his disguise with the caption, 'Dang girl! Hot stuff! Can you imagine what the Champion and the Elite Four would think if they saw this? Their one chance of getting N Harmonia and stopping him from being taken by Team Plasma was snuffed out by a couple of teenagers' raging hormones.' The final page had pictures of N, but not any from Bianca. They were all younger pictures of him. There was one with him smiling next to several of the Sages, another with him playing with Trixie out behind Plasma mansion, some professional photos of him on his coronation day, a few with him and Zekrom, and finally one with Ghetsis and N together. There was a final note that said, "Hey, Ivory! Just wanted to say thank you so much in helping me do my job. I really couldn't have done it without you! You not saying anything to the League was super helpful, you convincing N to work with humans and not just Pokemon, you just existing so that N would want to come back home, and you telling me the traitor would sabotage the device (that was REALLY helpful since we weren't quite sure how to smoke her out until you said that). Thanks for helping me bring our little N back home! I really appreciate all your help!' She then signed her name and put blood splatters on them and wrote 'All the people you helped us kill.'

By this time, I had broken down sobbing. Bianca had started hugging me and was crying as well. Nightstar looked furious, but he just snuggled up against me to try and comfort me while everyone else remained still and eerily quiet. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed, "T-this is all my fault… I'm the reason he's… Oh Arceus…" I continued to sob as I thought, 'I'm the one who told Rosa what the informant was planning on doing… I killed her,' my shoulders shook as physical pain seemed to wrack my body when I thought about this. But still worse was the memory etched in my mind of when after we had waited for over an hour for Hugh to show up, I had told N's Fletchling, Arrow, that it was safe for N to come to the raid. I had _told_ him to come. I should have said to take the first airplane out of Unova. I was there when Rosa shoved me out of the way to get to N. I had just stood there and watched as she took him from me. I'm the reason N's gone. I'm the reason he's with… them. The very people who hate him more than the League or even all the citizens of Unova. 'Oh Arceus help us.' "What… what do you think they'll… do to him?"

"Make what you've just gone through seem like a walk through the park," Iris said grimly.

* * *

N stirred and slowly opened his eyes in complete disorientation as he blinked up at the bright overhead lights. He felt his head pounding in pain and tried to slowly lift his hand to his head only to be met with sharp pain from where his wrist had been broken. He looked down and saw that he was on what looked like an operating table. N glanced around at his surroundings and saw that he was in a lab of some sort. There were all sorts of monitors set up that seemed to be recording frequencies and vital signs. As he looked at them more closely, he realized that they were monitoring his life functions. Along the side of the wall across from him were beacons and special chemicals all locked within a cabinet, and beside that was a table with what appeared to be notes and a computer. Everything else appeared to be white and sterile.

N was surprised to see he wasn't restrained at all as he slowly got up off the table while his head and hand ached in protest. He looked down and saw that his wrist was wrapped up in a cast and that he was still in his old clothes that he had been wearing on the night of the raid. He got up off the table and walked over to the window where he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He saw that he looked pale and frightened with his now short green hair fluffed out and sticking in every direction. He froze when he saw something else in his reflection. N hesitantly reached up around his throat and felt a cold, metallic collar that wound seamlessly around his neck. He desperately tugged on it, but it remained securely around his neck.

Deciding to ignore the collar for now, he peered through the window and saw that it was much darker outside of the room he was in. He could hardly see anything aside from the slight lighting from the floors. N reached for the door handle to the lab and pulled on it to surprisingly find that it was open. N crept out of the lab and slowly closed the lab door behind him so that no one could hear him though he doubted that would help.

He made his way down the dark, empty corridor until he turned into a large circular room that was barely lit aside from the glowing bluish light from the center where a huge glass cage stood. Inside it was a large Pokemon that was staring sadly out at the dark walls surrounding it. When it heard N approach, it swung its head around to stare at him. N quickly rushed over and pressed his good hand against the glass. The Pokemon that N recognized as Kyurem from all the myths he had been read to about the gods when he was a child by his parents. Kyurem saw his hand and moved over to where N was before cocking his giant head and studying N inquisitively.

N breathed deeply and reached inside himself to feel the ancient power he had once felt when summoning Zekrom. He felt the surge of power and strength course through his body as his mind connected with Kyurem's. He felt Kyurem's sadness and loneliness which was so intense that it almost made N's heart break. He could feel the hollowness inside of Kyurem's chest from where Reshiram and Zekrom had once been a part of him before they became separate entities. He felt that had healed over time, but the sadness and emptiness was still there. _"Ancient one,"_ he heard Kyurem's voice say. _"The last time I saw your kind, it was a princess. She was the one that came to me to ask me to stop attacking the small humans whenever I would go hunting. She was very kind, and I always looked forward to the visits she would make."_ Kyurem slightly shifted his head as he stared at N, _"You look like her."_

"My name's N," N said quietly. "I'm so sorry that you're here… do you think that you could use your powers on your cage to break out?"

"_I've tried before, but I'll try again,"_ Kyurem replied_. "Perhaps with your power, we'll be able to finally get through."_ Kyurem then turned from N and N felt himself lean weakly against the cage as Kyurem drew from N's power as well as his own and turned to use glaciate against the side of the cage with such force that it sent N falling to the ground and caused him to cry out in pain as his broken wrist hit the ground. N looked to where Kyurem had hit the side of the cage and was amazed to see that the glass still held in place. He felt the wave of disappointment and resignation coming from Kyurem as he slowly walked back over to N. _"I'm sorry, but whatever substance this cage is made from, it automatically absorbs all of my energy."_

"That was truly an incredible display of power," N heard a voice say. "Kyurem's never been able to send off such a high energy glaciate before. Truly incredible." N shakily got to his feet as he saw a man approach him. "My name is Dr. Colress. Team Plasma's asked me to come and work on both harnessing and amplifying the power of Pokemon."

N said nothing as he glared at the scientist who had walked up to him. Kyurem then said, _"It's the pain giver. Be careful, N."_

Colress smiled slightly as he approached N before taking one of N's arms, and studying the light, icy blue aura radiating off his skin. His yellow eyes lit up in delight as he breathed, "Fascinating, when the Sages talked about your origins and all the mythology behind it, I'll admit that I didn't believe it. I personally prefer more logical explanations rooted in science, but my initial analysis of you showed that you emit extraordinarily high levels of energy. In Castelia Sewers, your frequency at which you connected to Pokemon wasn't just high, it was a completely different frequency all together."

N yanked his hand away from Colress' grasp and pulled away from his inner power so that his aura faded into nothing, and Kyurem again became a distant god. Colress didn't seem to mind since he continued to study N carefully, "You're a complete anomaly, my boy. Preliminary research and analysis would have anyone believe that you're a human, but I've studied it more carefully and I can say that that isn't the full truth. It's strange because you definitely have the human DNA of your father, but your mother's genes seemed to have altered the very structure of your chromosomes. At first, I thought you were like a Whisperer with certain genes activated, but I've found coding in your DNA that no human has." Dr. Colress than leaned eagerly forward, "You're not a human. You're something much more. You'll be my most powerful specimen yet that I'm finally allowed to study. It's been so frustrating to work in an organization where a creature like yourself exists, but I was never allowed to study you while you were with Team Plasma. Good thing we don't have that problem anymore."

N backed up and away from Colress while he shook your head, "You're wrong. I'm a human, and I won't let you use me for my powers."

Colress just laughed and said, "My dear boy, you honestly think you have a say in any of this. Team Plasma will use you whether they have your consent or not, and you cannot deny the facts. Genes don't lie."

"If we were two different species, then my mother and father never could have had-"

"You? Well, the DNA isn't so altered that humans and 'Celestas' as the Sages call them can't have children. However, you're still the exception. Concordia and Anthea surprisingly didn't originally have altered DNA the way yours are despite being from the Celesta Society. However, once you 'bonded' or whatever, it appears that their DNA was forcibly rewritten. Much like how Pokemon's DNA change when bonded to a Whisperer. It appears you were born with altered genes, but after studying your mother's genes, I found that you're not a half-breed. You're the same species as your mother. I'd love to know more about the way you were conceived, but unfortunately Lord Ghetsis has not been very forthcoming on those details."

N could barely process what he was saying, but Colress was continuing, "Now, to the experimentations. I'll be running a series of tests on you and I expect you to be fully cooperative. That's my first rule. The second is that you will only speak unless asked a direct question by myself or the other seven Sages. If it's a relevant question, you may ask, but other than that, don't say anything. The third, you will show proper respect to your superiors, which is everyone on this frigate since you're an enemy of Team Plasma."

"I won't be your or Team Plasma's lab Rattata you son-of-a-Herdier," N shouted before running the opposite direction of Colress and around Kyurem's cage. He'd only made it halfway around the cage when suddenly pain coursed through him from an electrical charge causing him to scream in pain before he collapsed and felt his vision blur with tears from the pain as he landed on his already throbbing wrist. N writhed in pain as he heard Colress' boots walk slowly towards where he lay. Only when Colress finally made it to N's side did the pain stop. N gasped in agony as his limbs twitched from the electrical shock.

"I suppose you're going to make this difficult for yourself. Already breaking all the rules. Time to go over punishment. Around your neck is a shock collar, and if you ever disobey any of those rules or get out of line in any way, I will use it against you. You'll never be able to escape this frigate even without the shock collar. This lab is completely secure with only access to the outside through facial and hand scanners, none of which you'd pass. There will also be guards to prevent you from escaping, and they haven't been ordered to be particularly nice to you when they apprehend you. You already have a broken wrist; I wouldn't want anything else to happen to you. The second punishment for defying Team Plasma's orders will be your little Zorua, Trixie."

N's eyes widened as he struggled to push himself off the ground while nursing his wrist. "What have you done with her?"

"She's not doing well at all," Colress said simply. "The Shadow Triad took it a bit far with her, and she was in critical condition before." Colress then brought out his portable touchscreen and pulled up an image which he presented to N. It showed a video feed of a small Zorua lying in an empty cage with a bandage around her torso and a muzzle around her mouth. She looked completely miserable.

"You sick bas-" N said before he cried again in pain as another shock went through him.

"Remember what I said," Colress said softly. "Now, the second punishment is that we'll apply the same pain you're feeling now to your Zorua. We'll make a special trip to her cage just so you can watch her in pain. Finally, the third is something I hope you never have to experience, but if you break the rules too often, I will have the Shadow Triad hurt you in whatever manner they desire as long as they don't kill you. I hope it doesn't come to that, but it's all up to you.

"N I really don't wish to see you in pain or suffering, but that will all depend on you. The more you listen and are complacent, the more rewards you'll have outside of not being in pain. You'll be given special visitations to your Zorua and even given your own room if you're good."

"So that you can train me like a Pokemon into doing whatever the Distortion World you and the Sages want?" N spat. "I'd rather die than give you the satisfaction of parading me around like your little Lillipup again."

Colress tutted slightly at this as he again sent a shock of pain through N, "Now, now. Don't speak unless asked and especially not in such a manner." Colress studied N for a moment before saying, "I'm only here to study you, but I know that if you continue to resist Team Plasma, I can assure you that the ones directly overseeing you will push you beyond your limits until you break completely. Consider this a friendly warning. I personally prefer my specimen to be a little more responsive than a shattered husk like Kyurem is." Colress then smiled down at N, "Now with that all out of the way, let's begin the experiments."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

**A/N: Thank you Zorua, pokemontrainer1, and SnowCatt for all your support! I really appreciated your comments and it meant a lot to me that you're reading this and you want to keep reading. This is gonna be a long and very different chapter… so yeah.**

"You need to go home Cilan," Doctor Fennel said as she gently put her hand on the young man's shoulder. He wearily looked up at her as she smiled down at him sympathetically and continued, "We'll call you if there's a change in her condition, but right now, you need to go home and get some sleep. You've barely left her side since it happened last two weeks."

Cilan glanced down at Anthea's still form lying on a bed with dozens of tubes hooked in supplying her with electrolytes and glucose. Her face was alarmingly pale and almost had an ashen, gray tint to it while her now dull pink hair lay limply on her pillow. The only indication that she was even alive was a small blip from her heart monitor indicating their was a slow nearly nonexistent heart beat. Cilan turned away from Fennel and shook his head, "I can't leave her… not like this. Not when any moment I might get a call from you saying she… she…" Cilan bit his lip and leaned forward and kissed Anthea's cold forehead as he closed his eyes and tried not to think of the horrible reality in front of him.

"Anthea wouldn't want this," Fennel said firmly. "She didn't want to tell you her medical problems because she didn't want you to worry or stop acting as a Gym Leader which she knows you love to do. She wouldn't want you to ruin your own health because of this. You can always come back tomorrow."

"But she's dying Fennel and the entire Region's gone to the Distortion World," Cilan snapped. "People are panicking from neo Team Plasma's attacks with the last being the worst of all. The last time we tried to go against Team Plasma, the entire League looked incompetent and weak compared to Team Plasma's well thought out strategy which has made a lot of Unovans lose faith that we'll be able to stop a second invasion. The only thing that's stopping mass panic is that the Light and Dark Stone are in League custody and Team Plasma doesn't have access to a Legendary."

"I know, which is why the citizens of Striaton City need their Gym Leader to be on his top game and to not only rely on his brothers to keep the peace," Fennel persisted. "The League's going to retaliate and they're going to need their core members to be in top shape which means that you need to be well rested just in case something happens… again."

A girl with a pink Munna bobbing by her shoulder walked into Fennel's lab at that point and said, "The lab results on Anthea's bizarre DNA is back. It's like you suspected, her mitochondria aren't producing enough energy to continue even basic life functions. Her condition's getting worse and worse by the minute."

"Thank you Amanita," Fennel said as she glanced worriedly at Cilan who had tightened his grip on Anthea's limp hand. "Have we got anything back from the Dream Eater results?"

"No," Amanita said sadly, "We've tried different dosages of Dream Mist and each time we use Dream Eater to monitor her dreams, there's nothing but blurs of colors."

Fennel sighed, "Its so frustrating because there's so much we don't understand about Anthea and Concordia. I mean they claim to have origins purely rooted in mythology, but when the League looked into it, there didn't seem to be any evidence that a group of individuals like them exist. That reminds me, have you been able to contact Concordia? She needs to know what happened to her sister."

"I've been trying to, but-" Cilan stopped midsentence when he heard a slight knock outside of the lab room door. He glanced up and saw a young man that appeared to be in his late twenties with a Pikachu riding on his shoulder. He had short black hair that spiked out from beneath his blue cap and he was dressed like a trainer with several pokeballs secured around his waist despite him clearly having a pin on both himself and his Pikachu indicating he was a Whisperer.

He looked over at Fennel and said, "You're Dr. Fennel, right? They told me that I could find you back here with Anthea. My name's Yellow and I called earlier to make an appointment to see Anthea."

Fennel's eyes widened as she said, "Oh yes! How could I forget! You're the Whisperer working with the Pokemon Masters." She quickly walked over and shook his hand and eagerly said, "I hear you came all the way from the Kanto Region!"

Yellow smiled and bobbed his head almost like he was bowing a little to Fennel and said, "Yes. I'm originally from the now famous Pallet Town and before you ask, yes I know who Professor Oak, Red, Blue, and Green are."

"That's incredible," Fennel gushed. "I'd love to meet Professor Oak some day." Her smile then faltered as she looked back to Cilan who had returned to staring at his comatose girlfriend and said, "I just wish we didn't have to meet in such depressing circumstances. We still have no idea what Team Plasma did to her or why it happened. I mean I guess they did it for revenge, but I'm surprised they didn't just kill her."

Yellow studied Anthea's pale complexion for a moment before sitting in the chair next to her bed and gingerly taking her limp hand. He almost inaudibly whispered, "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Anthea. You were never meant to take on this responsibility." Yellow glanced up when he heard a few soft thuds around him and he saw that Cilan had fallen forward onto Anthea's bed and was snoring gently while Amanita and Fennel had slid down the sides of the lab walls and their heads lolled in front of them as they breathed evenly in sleep. Yellow turned to look at the small Munna still hovering close to Amanita and said, "Thanks, now go and use hypnosis on the rest of the Striaton Dream lab workers."

"_You got it,_" the Munna replied.

Yellow brought out a pokeball which he then released revealing a Gallade and said, "Bring Riley and Luke." The Gallade nodded and immediately teleported away only to reappear a few moments later with a young man dressed in an old fashioned blue jacket and hat with black hair and a Lucario standing next to him.

The Lucario was the first to walk over to Anthea and gently touch her ashen face, his eyes slightly glowing as he studied her aura. Luke sighed as he drew his paw back and said, _"It is as Concordia said, Anthea has indeed broken her bond. Her life essence is quickly fading from her, but she's still holding on. She is indeed a warrior even if she herself doesn't believe it."_

"How long does she have," Riley asked.

"_In her current state, a couple of weeks at most," _Luke replied sadly. _"Perhaps the Celesta's could do more for her, but we cannot fix a broken bond. Eventually, she will slowly die since her body is continuing to fail and weaken with each passing moment."_

"I know she was weakening herself by closing herself off from her bond, but to go to the extreme of breaking it all together… it's unthinkable," Riley said as he shivered slightly from the thought.

"The Pokemon Masters mentioned she was taken by a Shadow Triad member and when the League came, they found her like this. I don't doubt that Ghetsis Harmonia had a significant role in Anthea breaking her bond," Yellow said coldly.

"_Time is not on our side as it was after the events of last year,"_ the Lucario said. _"Concordia is finding it even more difficult to find the boy's location and we haven't been able to pick up his aura other than the areas he's already been to here in Unova. The Pokémon he interacted with also don't know where he is."_

"Attacking the bond itself instead of just Anthea is very specific," Riley added. "He's probably going to try and break N and Concordia's bond as well."

"_Hopefully the boy will not be foolish enough to break the bond,,_" the Gallade said. "_However, the greatest tool Ghetsis Harmonia has against N is his ignorance of his heritage and our ways compared to Ghetsis' knowledge of it. He'll use that against N as he already has with Anthea. Even Concordia's understanding of Celesta ways was distorted by the years she spent with Team Plasma when she first came to us. I can't imagine how false and wrong the boy's understanding of his ancestry and powers is."_

"We'll do everything in our power to find him before that happens," Yellow said fervently. "I know Red and I've worked alongside the other Pokemon Masters long enough to see their resourcefulness and persistence. They won't stop until they've found N, and now after everything that's happened they want to help the Unova League stop Team Plasma once and for all."

"_Do not underestimate Ghetsis Harmonia as the League did or we did all those years ago,"_ Luke warned. _"It took us a year to find N's location in the Kalos Region when he was relying on only himself to hide. Team Plasma will keep him well hidden and I fear it will take months to find him again. Concordia is already finding it difficult to form a psychic link or enter his dreams with Lord Barrion which makes our search more difficult than it already is."_

"_At least he won't side with them as he did last time," _the Pikachu piped up from on top of Yellow's shoulder. _"That might buy us more time."_

"_Perhaps_," the Lucario replied, _"But we've already seen one of the royalty willingly follow and betray everything she was taught for this man. I don't want to see that happen again."_ Luke stared down at Anthea for a moment before saying_, "In case N Harmonia does break his bond with Concordia, we must be prepared. Riley and I will continue to focus our search for N's aura while Chase and Storm continue working with the League and the Pokemon Masters but I also want you to find anyone who could also become N's Guardian. Just in case anything happens."_

"Yes sir," Yellow and Storm said in unison. Yellow then looked down at Anthea and said, "Is there really nothing we can do for her?"

"Perhaps we can bring her back to Celesta Society," Riley suggested. "His Majesty could supply her with at least some energy so she doesn't die… but it won't help if the rift from the bond isn't healed."

The Lucario nodded and said, "_I believe she should be taken back for now. Eichi, teleport her to our rendezvous point where you can contact His Majesty so you can be teleported all the way back to the Sinnoh Region."_

"I'll tell Barrion to alter the humans' dreams so that they think the League's transferred her to a secure facility," Riley said as he glanced at the sleeping forms of Cilan, Fennel, and Amanita.

Riley deftly unhooked all of the wires connecting Anthea and with that, the four of them teleported away from the lab leaving Yellow and Storm behind with three sleeping humans and a floating Munna. It wasn't long before the three of them woke up with a start and looked around the lab in confusion. Fennel's eyes fastened on Yellow and she blushed a deep crimson as she got up to her feet, " I'm so sorry, I don't know what overcame me! I can't believe I actually took a nap on the floor." Again she blushed profusely and adjusted her glasses in embarrassment. "Anyway, I'm so sorry you came here sir. I'm surprised you didn't hear but they've transferred Anthea to an emergency medical facility. I'm sorry you came all the way down here for nothing. I can show you the medical records I have though."

"That's alright," Yellow said amiably. "I was going to go through Striaton City anyway."

"Oh, where are you going?" Amanita asked.

"Nuvema Town."

* * *

_Red streaks of light flitted across the darkening sky casting an eerie glow on the large willow trees just outside of White Forest. The dying rays shifted off the river gently churning alongside the small path that led into the heart of the forest. Ghetsis swiftly walked along the path moving the tree branches aside while Zweilous ambled behind him crashing through most of the overgrown vegetation. Ghetsis only paused when he heard a huge splash behind him and he turned to see that Zweilous had decided now was a good time to get in the river. One head dipped into the water where it began to lap up the water while the other thrust down into the water where it grabbed a Basculin which it then tossed into the air and caught in it's mouth before crushing it with it's teeth and swallowing it._

_Ghetsis sighed impatiently and snapped, "I know you're hungry and you haven't had dinner, but now's not the time for this. I need you up here with me in case any wild Pokemon attack." Instead of obediently coming up to the shore, the Pokemon continued to drink and scan for more food at the same time. Finally, Ghetsis brought out a can of pokefood which he shook loudly causing both heads to shoot up and swivel to look blindly at the source of the noise. Immediately the Zweilous crowed in delight before bounding out of the water and shuffling excitedly toward Ghetsis. It stood patiently as Ghetsis unscrewed the lid of his can of pokefood and tossed a treat to each of the heads. Afterwards, the Zweilous affectionately nuzzled both it's heads against Ghetsis and nipped at his green hair._

"_Okay, okay. Enough," Ghetsis said impatiently as he absentmindedly stroked the fluffy navy blue fur of each of the heads. Unfortunately for Ghetsis, the Zweilous had decided he wasn't finished showing his trainer his affection. They wrapped their heads around him and pressed their necks around his torso in some sort of hug before one head broke away with a slobbering tongue hanging out. "No, no, no. Don't you dare!" Ghetsis said anxiously, but it was too late. The Zweilous had licked his trainer right smack on the face._

"_Ugh…" Ghetsis grumbled as he moved away from the Pokemon and to the clear blue river where he splashed some water on his face to thoroughly scrub it. He glared back at Zweilous who still had it's tongue lolling out and panting like any common Lillipup. "That was absolutely disgusting. Don't ever do that again."_

"_Oh don't be too angry," Ghetsis froze when he heard her voice. It was so soft and it seemed to rise and fall in a cresendo and descresendo of notes rather than mere words. "He just wants you to know how much he loves you and apologize for not listening earlier."_

"_Melody," Ghetsis said as he stood up and looked further down the road where a slender young woman stood. Her long blonde hair fell in waves down her back like a cascading golden waterfall which perfectly framed her lovely round face. She was stunningly beautiful and looked like she would be better suited for a Nimbassa City photoshoot than out here in the woods with a few leaves sticking out of her hair and her worn trainer clothes. Ghetsis felt his heart begin to pound as he rose from the side of the river and pushed through the brambles to make it over to where she stood with her Espeon, Ivana, standing loyally by her side._

_As he approached, Melody's breathing became a little more uneven, and as she looked up into his red eyes, her own stormy blue eyes dilated slightly. He gently moved his hand toward her face causing Melody's breath to catch in her throat. He removed a stray leaf from her blonde locks and slid his hand down the curve of her cheekbone, and whispered, "I've been looking for you. I know whenever you're upset you like to come here and climb the trees."_

_Melody's complexion took on a faint rosy tint as she reached her hand up to place it on his where her hands lingered there for a second. Finally, she removed his hand from her face and said breathily, "Th-thanks for your concern, Ghetsis. You've been such a good friend," she added great emphasis on the word friend as she stepped back from Ghetsis' close proximity before she continued, "I'm sorry that I left before you finished the raid at Black City. I-I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand." She then looked up at him worriedly, "No one got hurt from what I… from what happened did they?"_

_Ghetsis pursed his lips slightly before he said, "Well… when the Eevee escaped they all immediately banded together to destroy the lab…" he considered lying to her and telling her no one had been harmed, but he knew that she'd inevitably find out about it from one of the other gossiping Team Plasma members. Arceus knows Bronious found it nearly impossible to keep his mouth shut about anything. Best to tell her the truth so he wouldn't lose her trust, "The lab collapsed before all the scientists… and some of the Plasma members… could evacuate."_

"_Oh Arceus," Melody said as she turned from him. "I-I didn't mean to. I thought everyone was gone… and I… I just wanted that research and lab destroyed. The things those Eevee told me about the experiments those scientists would run to find how to recreate the energy from evolution so they could create cheap knock off evolutionary stones was… horrifying to say the least."_

"_It's okay Melody," Ghetsis said soothingly as he wrapped his arms around her while pressing his lips against her soft blonde hair. "You didn't know they were in there when you ordered the attack. Besides, some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good."_

_Melody only looked away in shame and mumbled, "I should have known better. I wasn't thinking clearly and I let my emotions get in the way." _

'_Or you just forgot how powerful you are,' Ghetsis thought to himself. Although Melody had always insisted she was just a strong Whisperer from a small town in the Sinnoh Region, Ghetsis knew that wasn't true. Her first slip up was when he found she could talk to Pokemon and gradually Ghetsis had pieced together that she could control large amounts of Pokemon with ease and effectively militarize them to fight for her or serve her. Not to mention her singing. Whatever she was, it went well beyond her just being a Whisperer. Perhaps he could learn what it was tonight._

_She was still staring glumly down at her green shoes when Ghetsis went in for a second hug which she again accepted with hesitance. He held her there for a moment before he seductively moved his hands down her arms and along her back while his fingers gently played with her soft hair. Ghetsis gently kissed her on the cheek, his lips caressing her soft skin causing her breath to become jagged and her pulse to quicken. She leaned against him and began to let down her defenses just a little as her hands slid up his back and her own lips ghosted his neck and shoulder bone. Suddenly, she pulled away and broke free from his grasp while she desperately said, "No. No, we can't. You and I… it'll never work."_

_Ghetsis held back a growl of frustration and tightened his fists in irritation before calmly placing his hands on Melody's shoulders and turning her around to face him once more. Despite the now darkened sky, Ghetsis could see that Melody's face was flushed and that her eyes were sparkling with adrenaline and desire. He gently brought her back toward his embrace and purred in her ear, "Why can't this work? You must know that I no longer see you as a friend." He moved his hands sensually down her back and ever so slightly lower. He leaned toward her lovely round face, his lips close to hers and almost brushing against her which caused her to whimper a little. He whispered, "And I know you feel the same way."_

_He then kissed her and let his lips slip over her soft tender ones. He felt her stiffen at first, but soon she had given in to her own passions as she once more moved her hands around him and returned the kiss in earnest. Melody then broke away and said huskily, "G-Ghetsis even though I have feelings for you… I… I… can't… I shouldn't… I" she didn't say anything more because their lips were again locked as Ghetsis held her possessively against himself. He felt Melody's defenses melt completely as she ran her fingers through his long green hair. Ghetsis moved from her lips and began to kiss her neck as she said, "Ghetsis… there are things you don't know about me. There's a reason we can't be together."_

"_Then tell me," Ghetsis murmured as he slid his lips down her collar bone and listened to heart thumping erratically. He moved back and looked her in the eyes as he gently stroked her cheek, "There's nothing you need to hide from me." He then moved to her ear and purred in almost a hiss, "You can trust me."_

_Melody leaned back a little as she looked up all her defenses visibly falling apart in front of his eyes. There was still a little hesitancy in her voice when she whispered, "Promise you won't freak out."_

"_Of course, my love," he cooed even though he couldn't help but wonder what she meant when she said that. She smiled nervously at him before stepping back and closing her eyes. For a brief moment it was completely quiet aside from the croaking of a dozen Tympoles and his Zweilous rummaging through the forest. Suddenly, a silvery light seemed to emanate from Melody's slim figure before it encompassed her completely. Ghetsis gaped in momentary shock before he backed away from her as he felt the power radiating off of her. She seemed so unnatural with that light around her and she seemed far from human._

_Melody opened her eyes and looked worriedly over at Ghetsis to see that he was still staring at her slack jawed and in complete shock. He felt himself blush as he closed his mouth and said squeakily, "Well, I wasn't expecting that." He tried to smile, but he worried it looked more like a grimace since he was secretly terrified by the sight in front of him._

_Melody's face fell as she saw his ill concealed fear and she looked down and said, "I'm sorry I showed you, but this is why we can't be together. We're too different. You'd never understand what I am and honestly, I'm not even supposed to be here in the first place."_

_Ghetsis finally regained his composure as he said, "Wait. I'm sorry for how I reacted. That wasn't fair to you. You're right that I don't understand, but at least give me the chance to hear you out. After all," Ghetsis said tenderly as he walked over and took her hands in his. He momentarily shuddered as he felt her unfathomable power surge through him as they made physical contact. 'She's so powerful,' Ghetsis thought. 'It's almost a little intoxicating and…wonderful. What would it be like to have that amount of power for myself?' He again smiled warmly and finished, "After all, you are still you even when you're glowing like a lightbulb."_

_Melody's eyes brightened as she asked, "Have you ever heard of Celesta mythology?"_

"_Um… yes. My sister used to read me stories from mythology every night especially whenever I had nightmares," Ghetsis replied. "Not to mention I take Professor Ryoku's class and he's an expert in mythology. The Celestas were an ancient tribe that originated in the Kalos Region and then spread throughout the different Regions including Unova. I'm fairly certain the original Queen was rumored to be a Celesta as well as the king of Abyssal Ruins. Then of course there's the famous myth of the two brothers and they were said to be Celestas. All the myths say that the people could talk to Pokemon which makes sense because you can, but the only ones that were ever depicted to um… well glow… were the…," Ghetsis cocked his head as he stared at her and continued, "…were the royal family."_

_Melody nodded while smiling sheepishly and Ghetsis had to force himself to keep his mouth shut before saying, "So… if you're a Celesta… and you glow… that makes you… a princess?"_

"_Well, technically I'm a runaway princess. I left Celesta Society behind so that I could be out here in the outside world and explore new places, meet new people, and I don't know… have fun. I mean I didn't expect to run into you or Team Rocket or anything like that, but," she smiled and moved closer towards Ghetsis, "I'm glad that I did. With you around, every day's an adventure."_

_Ghetsis smiled as he pulled her closer to him and basked in her radiance and power as he chuckled and said, "It all makes sense. A princess locked up in a castle wants adventure and so she runs away to go find it. I mean you even have an Espeon that follows you everywhere and when you sing the Pokemon come running to dance and sing with you. I bet you could probably stick your head out the window, sing, and get a bunch of Pokemon to clean your apartment."_

_At this Melody giggled a little and said, "I may or may not have done that occasionally."_

"_Hmm… slave labor," Ghetsis teased. "That's not what Team Plasma's about."_

_Melody just rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever, says the guy who's secretly afraid of Pokemon."_

"_I'll have you know, Melody, that I've long since gotten over my fear of Pokemon ever since you came into my life. I mean every time you step foot into my door, there's a crowd of Pokemon that come with you, and then they sit around the table talking to you while I awkwardly sit there saying nothing since all I hear is your one-sided conversation. I've also become a vegan and I even raised Zweilous from an egg. I think that argument is now null in void."_

"_As is yours. I'll have you know that I haven't done anything like that ever since Team Plasma was formed," Melody said as she smiled smugly, "So there."_

_Ghetsis chuckled as he cupped her beautiful glowing face in his hands and slowly kissed her which she happily returned. He then playfully asked, "So, if you're a princess, does that make me your prince charming?"_

_He kissed her tenderly for a moment before she pulled back slightly and mumbled, "Well, you certainly are charming. It helps that you're one devilishly handsome man." She went again for another kiss._

"_Melody," Ghetsis asked between kisses, "Will you ever go back to… your home? Are you going to leave?"_

_Melody paused as she drew back a little, "I've always been told ever since I was a child that I was meant to use my powers to act as a bridge between Legendaries and humans. I was born to stop battles between the gods as well as the gods and the humans."_

"_Born to save the world," Ghetsis mused, "That's a fairly exciting destiny."_

"_Oh, the stopping conflict and traveling to Region's in crisis is the fun part. Everything in between kind of sucks," Melody said with a sigh. "Everyone expects you to do certain things and be a certain way. There are so many rules I have to follow. Rhea always told me that rules are for my own protection, but-"_

"_I always say that rules are meant to be broken," Ghetsis said with a slight smirk. "I'm guessing you think the same thing." Melody smiled a little in response and Ghetsis continued, "To the Distortion World with rules and destinies. You and I," he said while interlocking his hand with hers, "We'll make our own destinies and change the world to what we want it to be."_

_She grinned and twirled the two green strands of hair sticking out the side of his head and said, "You, Ghetsis Harmonia, are the literal Giratina on my shoulder." She then looked away and said, "I'm still not sure about staying though. It's not that that I don't want to stay. I love Unova and I love-" she bit her lip and looked away from Ghetsis before continuing, "It's just that Rhea will… she'll probably…"_

"_Then let's not worry about her tonight," Ghetsis said softly. "Lets just let tonight be about you and me since we've finally moved past the Arceus awful 'we're just friends' stage. I want to know everything about you and the Celestas. About your powers. Everything."_

"_I think it's best if I show you," Melody said as she threw out her pokeball and released a beautiful sapphire blue serpent Dragonair. Melody psychically lifted herself onto the Pokemon while Ivana leapt up onto her lap. Melody extended her hand to Ghetsis and said, "Now it's your turn to trust me."_

_Ghetsis returned Zweilous to his pokeball and didn't hesitate to take Melody's hand who then psychically lifted him up to ride behind her. Once he had his arms firmly wrapped around her waist, the Dragonair shot up through the air and into the now star scattered night sky with the pale moon overhanging them. Ghetsis glanced back and nervously held Melody even closer as he saw that the Dragonair had already flown high above White Forest making even the big hollow oak tree at the center seem small. To the left he could make out the faint outline of Black City and he could even see the dim outline of Castelia City to the right._

_They twisted through the air and as they climbed higher, a flock of Altaria swirled around them before falling into formation behind them. Melody called, "Look behind you." Ghetsis glanced back and saw that the Altaria had clustered together to form the word 'Hi'. Before Ghetsis could react, Melody had the Dragonair plummet down towards the forest where several Emolgas and Pidoves swirled around them and all began to chant and almost sing in time with the song Melody was singing. They then shot forward across a glade where dozens of Deerling and Blitzles all seemed to be doing some sort of waltz as they stomped their hooves in time._

"_Are you controlling all these Pokemon," Ghetsis asked._

_Melody paused from singing for a moment before saying, "I suppose so, but it's not what it feels like. It's more like I think and envision something and they do it. Singing just helps open up my creative side so that I'm able to come up with endless possibilities for what I want the Pokemon to do."_

"_That's incredible, " Ghetsis said as he pushed Melody's wild blonde hair out of the way so he could see more clearly. He noticed that they had reached Undella Bay and that there were dozens of Volbeat and Illumise flying next to them making a v shape with the Dragonair at the head and center of it._

"_Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," Melody said excitedly. "I think we need some fireworks." She the pointed to an empty spot in the sky where the Volbeat and Illunise immediately flew to while extinguishing their lights. When they came close to the place Melody had pointed to they conglomerated before shooting out from each other while they all instantaneously lighting up in different colors making it indeed look like a firework. _

_Melody did this several times before suddenly she switched tactics and had several water type Pokemon leap out of the water and spin wildly leaving a spray of water droplets as they went. Ghetsis watched in awe as several Frillish of both genders leapt into the air and spin their tentacles in unison with each other. The Dragonair skimmed over the ocean water where several Alomomola leapt out of the water next to them. The Volbeat and Illumise flew by them as the water type Pokemon began to leap over where they were flying creating an effective tunnel of Pokemon. The light from the Illumise and Volbeat against the water droplets made an almost rainbow effect on the small tunnel._

_Before Ghetsis even had the proper time to admire it, the Pokemon stopped and the Dragonair rocketed back up to the sky. Ghetsis held Melody tightly and felt himself panic a little as the Dragonair slipped out from beneath them, but they were still being projected forward. Ghetsis felt panic set in as they were suddenly both set in freefall and they plummeted together towards the dark choppy waters below. Melody spread out her arms in delight while all Ghetsis could hear was the howling wind whipping through his long green hair and the beating of his own heart as the blood rushed through his ears. Instinctively, Ghetsis closed his eyes and clung to Melody before suddenly he felt completely weightless. He looked up and saw that Ivana was psychically holding them above the water._

_Melody spun around and out of Ghetsis' arms in pure adrenaline as she said deviously, "I'd get in so much trouble if the royal counsel found out I'm doing this. They'd tell me I was using my powers with reckless abandon. My mother would probably give me a long lecture about respecting my powers and not using them for my own personal pleasure, but that's just because they don't know what they're missing out on. I mean, isn't this fun?"_

'_If Melody defines fun by feeling a sick sense of terror at every turn then yes this is fun,' Ghetsis thought to himself, but when he saw her glittering eyes and her wide grin he couldn't help but smile as well and say, "Yes, this is fun."_

"_Then let's do it again," Melody said happily. 'Oh Arceus,' Ghetsis thought as Ivana psychically tossed them back up into the air. However, when they reached their apex, Ghetsis couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked with her blonde hair spread out around her, her blue eyes sparkling with joy, and the moonlight giving her a silvery line to her already glowing figure. They plummeted back down to the waters and when they reached the bottom, Ivana again threw them back into the air, but this time at the top Ghetsis roughly took Melody in his arms and kissed her while their figures silhouetted the full moon. If Ghetsis had been looking, he would have seen that the Volbeat and the Illumise had lit up in the outline of a heart around the two._

_Instead of plummeting back down to the water like Ghetsis thought they would, they stayed hovering above in the air while Melody tenderly returned the kiss. Ghetsis brought his arms around her and kissed her passionately while he shuddered slightly as her power coursed and ran through his own veins. He could almost hear the Pokemon's voices all choosing to follow her commanding individual one as her aura completely enveloped him.. He relished in the feeling of power, and it only got better as she drew closer to him and to wrapped her arms around him while her hands slid over his shoulder blades._

_He pulled back to look at her beautiful face illuminated by her power and her clear gray-blue eyes staring into his red ones with affection. He felt his heart race inside him as he slid his hand down her soft rosy cheek. Never before had he been so happy to be in any person's presence as he was now with Melody. He enjoyed everything about her even if she was his complete opposite. She was reckless, carefree, and never thought anything through. She lived in the moment rather than planning for the future like he always did. Yet, she was also kind, compassionate, possibly the most open minded individual he knew and she saw the best in others and the world around her. She truly cared for others which was why she fought so passionately whenever they encountered Team Rocket. _

_He felt an emotion that he couldn't quite put into words as he looked at her. He'd initially compare it to joy or perhaps even lust since it was so fiery and passionate. Whatever it was, it all centered around Melody, her personality, and unusual abilities. It almost felt like… no. It couldn't be that. He had always mocked the fools who had claimed to have fallen in love when he had viewed love more as a hot sticky mess of hormones and lack of ill will towards the other. But this feeling wasn't like that… Arceus it was a nice feeling._

"_Ghetsis, are you alright?" Melody asked as she pulled back from him and put her hands against his damp cheeks. "You're crying! What's wrong. Are you afraid of heights? If you are, I'll have Ivana take us down."_

"_No, it's not that," Ghetsis whispered as he looked away in embarrassment. "It's just that I never thought I'd feel like this for another person. Melody… I…I…" 'Oh Arceus just say it, you idiot,' Ghetsis thought to himself. Saying the proper words had never been a problem before, but at this moment, he felt tongue tied and helpless. "I… I love you."_

_He waited for what felt like an eternity before Melody finally said in a small voice, "I love you too." She buried her head in his chest and whispered, "I love you. I love you so much."_

_'This isn't supposed to happen,' Ghetsis reminded himself repeatedly. 'I can't love her. Love is weakness and a distraction.' Yet the emotion was still there and it became more prominent the more he placed kisses along Melody's pale neck and let her power consume him. 'Well, as long as I can contain it and not let it run rampant I suppose I can allow myself to feel this for her.'_

_He felt himself begin to relax in Melody's arms as she kissed him back with equal emotion and love. She took his hands in hers and together they dropped back down to the ocean, but instead of being psychically stopped, the Dragonair came up beneath them with Ivana on her back. "What else can you do?" Ghetsis asked Melody excitedly. _

_She laughed and said, "We've barely gotten started with what I can do." With that the Dragonair took off to travel throughout all the east Unova coast, dipping and diving as they went. Each place they traveled to, the Pokemon did all they told them to. When they returned to the ocean, the water type Pokemon would form bubbles that would completely envelope them so they could explore the dark ocean waters while breathing and remaining dry. Ghetsis had never before felt so empowered as he did that night. He realized during that night that he and Melody commanded the most powerful creatures on the earth and there was nothing anyone could do to stop them._

_When at long last they had finally flown back to his apartment in Castelia City where they landed on the garden rooftop, Melody's silvery aura faded and she leaned up against him heavily in exhaustion. Ghetsis caught her and cradled her in his arms as he said, "Melody, you're amazing. You're like the gods themselves with what you can do."_

_Melody shook her head slightly before she returned her Pokemon and said, "Not really. I'm still mortal, I can still feel pain, and I'm definitely not as all knowing as some of the gods are. I certainly don't think the way they do even if I can understand them."_

"_But still, you have the power to overthrow the entire Region and change the world if you wanted to."_

_Melody shrugged and said, "Eh. I mean what would I do once I had the world? There'd be a ton of paperwork, people complaining about one thing or another, and people would always either say how great or bad a person I am. It's a lot of responsibility and I'm okay with not being put on a pedestal for what I can do."_

_Ghetsis considered that for a moment before saying, "Well, you couldn't take over singlehandedly. You'd never be able to secure the entire Region without the support of some followers. Besides, you'd need advisors to help give their input on certain topics like the direction of the economy, taxes, the legal system, protection along the routes and from other Regions, the school-"_

"_Which is exactly why I'd never want to do something like that," Melody said simply. "It's the Celesta law as well." She then straightened slightly and turned up her nose as she mimicked a bossy tone of voice, "Don't use your powers to interfere with already organized bodies of government, don't disrupt life in the outside world unless it's to stop cataclysmic destruction, don't use your powers to seek out fame and fortune." Melody sighed and said, "Then there are all their, 'philosophies' like the idea of never expecting a thank you for what you've done or only using your powers in moderation. I'm not even getting into the standard dress and conduct. Did you know Celestas still dress like they're from the Middle Ages and they barely use any new technology like flip phones or televisions. They're way old fashioned."_

"_Sounds awfully boring," Ghetsis said lightly as he brushed Melody's long blonde hair away from her face._

"_Well, it's not all bad. It's the most peaceful place in the world and there's never any violence since they'd be kicked out of Celesta Society if they were. Everyone knows everyone else and they live in harmony with Pokemon since they can talk to them. Pokemon are considered full Celesta citizens as long as they agree to follow the law."_

"_Hmm… they sound even worse now," Ghetsis said simply. "World peace only for them and push the rejects out to the already corrupt world. They have so many talents and abilities and yet instead of sharing it with others, they hide and keep it to themselves."_

_Melody looked down for a moment before saying quietly, "I think so too. I didn't realize how awful the outside world was. I cried every night when I first came here because people were so crass and rude. Not like in the Celesta Society where everyone knows me and bows when they see me. But when I joined Team Plasma, I realized that I could do something with my powers to help people more on a regular basis."_

"_Melody, you could do a lot more than that," Ghetsis insisted. "The League is corrupt and they let gangs like Team Rocket run the streets. They indoctrinate any outside threat to their system into believing that they were meant to serve the League. They do this with all Whisperers and Pokemon Masters. They hold all the power since they have weaponized their Pokemon to a point that they could destroy all their opponents. When they become corrupt, there's nothing anyone can do to stop them."_

"_I'm not really seeing how I would be any different if I led the government," Melody replied. "I have the same problem of being way too powerful."_

"_Not if you were only a figurehead leader," Ghetsis said excitedly. "You would be the military leader, but decisions for the government could go through a counsel just like how you said there's a Royal counsel on Celesta Society. They could lead the government together. They'd probably need to be an uneven number like five or maybe seven so that there would always be a majority vote, but they could be elected officials.."_

"_Um Ghetsis, where is this going?" Melody asked nervously._

"_Oh this is mainly a hypothetical discussion, but imagine if you were the Queen of Unova and Team Plasma supported you. We could help stop Team Rocket, we could stop all these useless Pokemon battles, and we could make a better, safer society with a strong government at the head of it."_

"_I don't know about that," Melody said softly. "Anyway, it's all just hypothetical. It'll never really happen." _

_Ghetsis said nothing as they walked over to the edge of the rooftop garden and sat on a bench overlooking the yellow lights of the city which was already starting to brighten with the coming of the sun. Melody yawned and snuggled closer to him while Ghetsis absentmindedly stroked her now tangled blonde hair. He considered everything he had just seen, heard, and learned about Melody's abilities and origins. Already, his mind began to formulate a plan and the endless possibilities of what he could do with access to power like that. He smiled a little as he pulled Melody close to his body and wrapped his arms possessively around her. Melody quickly returning the embrace and Ghetsis felt her shudder slightly as he kissed her and sensually ran his hand up her leg and along her black leggings. He whispered, "I love you. I love everything about you."_

_She eagerly returned each of his passionate kisses and said breathily when they paused for air, "I love you too." Melody's face then turned a lovely shade of scarlet as she glanced over at Ivana who had been sitting beside them on the bench. "It wasn't going to go that far, Ivana." The Espeon's tail twitched a little as the she cocked her purple head slightly to the right causing Melody's face to become an even deeper red if that were at all possible and said, "We weren't going to have an e-" again the Espeon stood a little and flicked her tail. Melody then looked down as realized that she had completely settled on top of Ghetsis' lap with her arms encircling Ghetsis' neck._

_Melody leapt off of Ghetsis and quickly straightened her tan mini skirt and redid the top buttons of her white blouse. She blushed and said, "Ghetsis… um…" she regained her composure and continued, "I had a wonderful night with you." Her eyes lit up as she said, "I love you. I'll see you again tomorrow." Before Ghetsis could say anything or even move, Melody had climbed over the wall surrounding the garden rooftop and leapt off with Ivana following suit._

_Ghetsis ran over to the side just in time to see the Dragonair spiraling away between the tall skyscrapers. He chuckled a little to himself as he watched them disappear out of sight. He could still feel his heart pound as he imagined her delicate lips, melodic voice, and unearthly silver light hugging her body and he knew that he had to have it all for himself. He glanced around at the tall City Skyline and the bustling traffic below as he thought as his thoughts became more clear and collected. 'The power to topple a regime and create a new one it's place,' he thought to himself. 'All this time and I had no idea what she was truly capable of,' Ghetsis thought his lips twitching into a smile as he saw her and imagined how she felt. He felt something inside him soften as he thought of Melody and how much he desperately wanted her all to himself. Ghetsis felt his fingers slide across the pink roses near the border and imagined it was her soft pink skin._

'_I'll change this Region to a better one, a one more like I envision. And I'll do it,' Ghetsis thought as he crushed the delicate rose in his hand, 'With her at my side.' He released the crushed delicate petals which wafted slightly in the breeze as he let the intense emotion of joy, desire, love, list, whatever a person called it as he envisioned Melody walking by his side and in his embrace never to leave because of her Pokemon. He smirked a final time as he looked to where Melody had flown off to and whispered, "Until tomorrow… my Queen."_

* * *

"The attack on Driftveil had mixed success," Giallo said as he leafed through the reports handed in. "Rosa's mission was a complete success along with N's capture, but we've now got the League and the former members of Team Plasma Distortion World bent on taking us down."

"Perhaps, but there's also been an increase in fear and anxiety among the Unovans," Zinzolin added. "Not only that, the League was seen as weak and incompetent in comparison to Team Plasma which has increased recruitment and funding. Something we're in need of now that we've lost the donations from when Team Plasma was a legitimate organization."

"I suppose, but it just feels like it makes everything unnecessarily messy. I know we decreased our possible loss by abducting N in a situation where he doesn't have access to Pokemon, but Rosa and the Shadow Triad could have handled that on their own."

"Gentlemen," Ghetsis said abruptly putting an end to the conversation. The other five Sages all displayed on Ghetsis' monitors stopped talking and looked over at him. "You seem to still believe that the League is a I remind you that we managed to overthrow the entire Pokemon League in one day. We would've been able to crush their pathetic resistance if N hadn't rebelled against us. The League isn't a threat when compared to the power of Legendaries."

Now the Sages all looked a little worried, and finally Ryoku said, "Perhaps they're not… but things will be messy with… them. I'm sure they're already here in Unova looking for N."

"Especially after what we've already put N through and what we'll do next," Bronious added. "Last year we at least had N on our side for when the Celestas would come to confront us, but this time they'll come after us with a vengeance."

"Must I keep telling you that it wouldn't really have made a difference," Ryoku said irritably. "The Celestas wouldn't have taken N's word seriously at all since he's an illegitimate child because Celesta law states only marriage between a Celesta and another Celesta is valid. This was going to be messy no matter what."

"Are we sure our only other option is fusing the patron gods together to create the original Tao Dragon. We still don't have access to the DNA splicers or either the Light or Dark Stones. Not to mention, the Celestas will probably use Legendaries to fight us."

"That's what mutually assured destruction is for," Ghetsis said coldly to Gorm who still looked rather nervous. "The Celestas are pacifists and have taken vows to never wreak the havoc they once did in the old ages. When they see that fighting us will only lead to the obliteration of the entire Region, then they'll stop and go back to hide in their little sanctuary."

Again, all the Sages exchanged nervous glanced and Bronious said timidly, "Yes, but that'll most likely end up killing thousands if not more innocent civilians. Who knows, they might end up wiping out all of Unova regardless of their philosophies."

"Then so be it," Ghetsis said icily. "We've all given our entire lives for this cause. I won't step down just because we're fighting with the gods when we go up against the Celestas. I've sacrificed everything to achieve this goal, are you prepared to do the same?"

The Sages looked at each other a final time before Giallo said quietly, "Ghetsis… I've been friends with you since we were kids and I know what it means to you to finally tear the League down, but… but are you sure we should go through with this. Perhaps… perhaps we could simply try to forcibly take Unova through Dr. Colress' device. We could overthrow them with that alone and not with N."

Bronious piped up, "Especially because of what we're doing to him now. I know what he did was terrible since it ruined all our plans and sent our most loyal followers to prison or hiding, but he's still a boy. He's still your son. If we let him go, the Celestas will probably let us continue on our way."

When Bronious had said this, all the other Sages immediately tensed up and Ghetsis said in a deathly growl, "My dear Bronious, you're starting to sound like Rood. No, we'll continue forward with our plan. Continue with your assignments."

With that, almost all the monitors flickered to black as each of the Sages all signed out leaving only Giallos's screen on display. Giallo hesitantly said, "Ghetsis… you really don't have to do this. Perhaps you can try to reconcile with N or-"

"I already tried that once with Melody and looked how that turned out," Ghetsis said coldly. "I won't make that same mistake with N. He's chosen his path and now it's time for him to live with consequences of his decisions."

"Ghetsis, I know when Melody died that-" Giallo tried again.

"Enough," Ghetsis said harshly. "I made my decision on my approach to my son's disobedience last year. My mind hasn't changed since last year. I won't let useless sentimentalities distract me… and Team Plasma from our goals."

Giallo sighed and said, "I suppose it hasn't. I certainly hope it's worth it when Team Plasma finally leads Unova. It'll cost you everything."

"It already has Giallo," Ghetsis said as he ever so slightly let his guard down around his lifelong friend. He glanced over at the picture he had of Melody with her perfectly framed golden hair and sweet smile, "It already has."

**A/N: Sorry for the super long chapter! I just kept writing and writing with this one. So we're introduced to the Celestas with some glorified exposition in memory form.**

**Melody is based on a Disney princess if you didn't notice or get some of the references. It doesn't matter which princess you choose because most of them are pretty similar and would do the same thing in Melody's situation. I did take inspiration from A Whole New World when I was writing the scene with them flying on a magic Dragonair ride. I also was inspired by the song Rewrite the Stars from the Greatest Showman.**

**Ghetsis can be seen as Hans from Frozen I guess, but he's more like Mother Gothel.**

**Anyway, interesting chapter to write. Sorry it was long!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

**A/N: WARNING: The section from N's POV is really dark and awful. If you'd like, you can skip it and read the Ivory section since it's a lot sweeter and wholesome with good vibes. I'll give a summary below just in case you don't want to read sadness but want to know important details.**

"After closely studying his cell samples, I've found that this unidentified source of energy apparently remains dormant until activated by some means the specimen has not yet revealed," Colress said into his recording device as he brought up a screen displaying N's cell structure. "However, I've gathered that this energy can be found within every cell of his body in the form of small receptors attached to the inner nucleus remaining nearly undetectable upon an initial study."

Colress then walked over to where N was strapped onto an operating table with wires attached along his arms and more specifically along his temples and forehead. N glared at the approaching scientist and flinched away as Colress pulled out a light to study his eyes, "What's fascinating is that he is indeed a Whisperer. He appears to connect with Pokemon by maintaining eye contact, but this doesn't explain this energy that permeates every inch of his body nor the fact that he can talk to Pokemon. Team Plasma reported N being able to communicate with Pokemon and access this energy despite having his eyes covered. I hypothesize that the specimen primarily relies on his Whisperer abilities since it's the easiest ability for him to understand while this unidentified energy provides a means of amplifying that ability. The fascinating thing about specimen 14 is-"

"My name is-" but before N could continue, Colress sighed and shocked him to silence him.

"The creature insists on speaking out of line despite the several shocks he's received because of it. He also continues to believe that he himself is a human despite all evidence pointing against it. Which leads me back to the other interesting observation I found on this species. It's clear that they attempt to appeal to humans in the fact that their appearance not only resembles a human but would be considered attractive. The specimen has flawless skin and perfect symmetry. His voice would also be a draw for humans, but according to mythology, they have natural musical talent to appeal to the Legendaries who are often appeased by music and a song. However, the fact remains that these creatures are trying to appeal to humans just as certain Pokemon such as Trubbish, Vannilish, and Slurpuff have altered appearances to make themselves more appealing to their prey. I initially thought that this was for these creatures to attract a mate, but I noticed this specimen appears frail and weak even when he was well nourished." This statement caused N to blush and glower at Colress. Colress just smirked and said, "Even now, the creature's attempt to look angry and intimidating comes off as more immature anger than an actually intimidating scowl. No, the specimen's eyes are too wide, his features too soft, and his body too slender to be considered threatening. It's fascinating since this creature has the power to destroy an entire city through the use of Legendaries or mere Pokemon, but he looks too innocent to be capable of something like that. I believe that this is because of the creature's odd ability to bond with humans. I think the creature isn't looking for a mate rather it's trying to look weak and sympathetic to humans so that they'll feel more compelled to protect him."

Colress reviewed N's base levels he glanced down at N who was still glaring at him, and said, "For this next experiment, I want to see what your base levels are compared to what they are when you access your powers. I also want a description of how you're feeling when you are activating those powers."

"No," N said fiercely. "You can hook me up to your-" N screamed in pain as Colress increased the voltage of the electric charge.

"Sorry for interrupting your long-winded speech of how you'll never use your powers for Team Plasma, but you're acting like you have a choice in this matter. Now, access your powers Specimen 14," Colress said impatiently.

"My name is-" N started to say before he again convulsed as another surge of painful electricity swept through him leaving him gasping for air by the end of it.

"I know what your name is," Colress said calmly, "But you know the conditions for me or the guards using it. You'll have to admit that you were wrong leaving Team Plasma and then give several reasons why. However, I could honestly care less if you did this or not as long as you don't interrupt my research. You refusing to access your powers is."

"You-" N started before he was abruptly shocked. He started several more times each ending with a shock before N finally ground his teeth and hissed, "Permission to speak Dr. Colress."

"Unless it's you about to describe what it feels to access and use your powers, I don't want to hear it," Colress said coldly. "The way you're acting will only get you another visit to your furry little pet and this time it won't just be electric shocks she's getting."

N flinched slightly as he thought about the last time when he had attacked his guards and tried to escape. He'd been horribly shocked and worst of all, they'd brought him to Trixie's cage so he could watch her cry out in pain as thundershock after thundershock hit her. However, despite the fact that she was suffering and in pain, Trixie had told N repeatedly not to give into them and she'd reminded him that they'd both agreed they'd die before they'd let Team Plasma get their way. N glowered at Colress and growled, "You can hurt me and even Trixie in whatever way you can imagine, but I will never, ever let you use me for my powers. Torture us all you want, but I won't be Team Plasma's weapon to destroy Unova."

Colress said nothing for a moment as he studied N glaring defiantly at him. Finally, Colress simply nodded and began unhooking the wires off of N and undid his restraints. "I see that there's no getting through to you in this state." Colress stepped back as N slid off the operating table and looked uncertainly over at the scientist. "I unfortunately can't circumnavigate the fact that you need to willingly access the power and Dream Mist can't be used to coerce you to access it either. I'm afraid you've given me no choice. Osamu."

Immediately, the Shadow Triad appeared around N, their eyes were gleaming with excitement as Osamu roughly grabbed N's hurt wrist and teleported him away to another part of the Frigate. N found himself in a narrow hallway with clear glass windows looking into different holding centers. Most of them were empty aside from the one nearest the door. N recognized the blue eyes and blackish gray fur of Trixie who was looking at him with worry. 'I'm sorry Trixie,' N said mentally, 'It's the Shadow Triad.'

Trixie nodded and said, _"Well, we knew this day would come. Remember, no matter what, don't give in to them. No matter what they do to me… or… or you. You have to be strong N."_

Osamu smiled at N as he tightened his grip on N's wrist. N fought back a small whimper as he tried to stare Osamu and the other Triad members down. N snapped, "Do your worst, you sick bastards. You'll never break me."

At this, the Shadow Triad laughed and Katashi sneered, "As if breaking you would even be a challenge. You're so fragile and weak I'm surprised you haven't broken already since you can't speak your mind."

N stared at them all defiantly and said, "There's nothing you can do to-"

Before he could continue, Takeo slammed him against the wall and swiftly brought out one of his daggers which he pressed up against N's cheek. Trixie yelled N's name while N tried to stay calm despite the growing fear he felt begin to build within himself. "You're a fool if you think that the worst we can do to you is kill you or your Zorua. Death is a respite that we'll have you on your knees begging for. You have never known pain, little King, well, not real pain. Perhaps you have been subjected to the elements and felt starvation, but that is nothing compared to what we can do to you."

Takeo slid his blade across N's cheek causing him to involuntarily shake as Takeo continued, "Master never hurt you until you betrayed him last summer, but that only lasted a few minutes. What we can do to you will last for the rest of your life. Tell me little King, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be permanently blinded or perhaps having that sweet little face of yours scarred beyond recognition. We might do Colress the favor of burning your vocal cords so that he doesn't have to constantly shock you."

N swallowed as he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest as fear coursed through his veins. He squirmed away from Takeo who was pressing him firmly against the wall as he traced his dagger along the side of N's face. Takeo chuckled, "Now you're beginning to feel it. The fear. I can smell it on you." He grabbed N's face so that he was forced to look directly into Takeo's dark black eyes as he hissed, "You have no idea what we're capable of. All we ever did before was guard you and keep you safe from all threats including idiotic females running around in jean shorts. It's a relief to finally be able to wipe that arrogant smile off of your face."

Katashi walked up at this point and said, "Where should we start?" He too brought out a dagger and said, "I think we should cut off a few of his fingers." At this point, N tried desperately to get away from them, but they only held him tighter and laughed at his struggling. Trixie began persistently attacking the glass wall to try and help N. She threw herself against the glass over and over to no avail until she was panting and throbbing in pain.

Osamu calmly said, "Oh look, Takeo and Katashi. You've frightened the poor boy and his little pet. Do you think when we're done, he'll cry for his father?"

N breathed in deeply and said with all the courage he could muster, "I knew you would torture me, but I still won't give you what you want."

The Triad again laughed and Osamu said, "Well isn't it nice to see the king try to be brave rather than run away from his problems and responsibilities. His Majesty and his pet were willing to kill themselves to keep us from his powers, but I can't help but wonder," Osamu then walked forward with a dark gleam in his eye. "Will his friends feel the same way."

Takeo and Katashi grabbed N and hauled him down the hallway and away from Trixie who was still screaming his name and attacking the glass. They roughly shoved him into another part of the holding area where N saw all his Kalos Pokemon held in different compartments. Each of them ran to the glass and yelled his name. _"What's happening, N," _Arrow asked worriedly. _"They released us into these cages and we haven't heard or seen anything since."_

"_They're horrible people," _Jasper cried as he put his small arms over his eyes. The little Chespin wailed, _"They barely give us any food and water and they haven't let us out ever since they released us."_

"_I'm scared, N," _Tanya said from where she was huddled in a small corner. _"Are you going to help us?"_

Takeo dragged N over to where Blaise was who growled at the Shadow Triad and puffed out her tail indignantly. She swiftly pulled out her stick and ignited it while bracing herself for a fight. "I like this pet of yours. She's feisty."

"What are you going to do to them," N asked as he pulled against Takeo and Katashi. "They haven't done anything to you. You're after me, not them."

Osamu chuckled and said, "Oh they have everything to do with this. You see, everything we said we'd do to you, we'll do to them. Starting with this lovely one here."

"What! No!" N screamed as Katashi teleported into the cage and first released a Seismitoad. Blaise immediately rounded on the Pokemon and blasted a flamethrower in the Seismitoad's direction. The Seismitoad deftly dodged the blast and Katashi quickly ordered it to use muddy water which knocked Blaise off her feet and felt a large amount of damage. While she was still down, the Seismitoad again used muddy water on her until her HP was completely drained.

While Blaise was struggling to get up from the sudden attack, Katashi returned the Seismitoad and released his Bisharp. Katashi's eyes lit up as he began to give explicit details of how and where he should cut the Braixen. Blaise's eyes widened in terror as the Bisharp leapt across the confinement area and cut down into her now vulnerable flesh. Blaise cried out in agony and the other Pokemon now understanding what was happening began screaming Blaise's name.

Osamu hissed in N's ear, "Why don't you apologize to your Braixen for the torture she's going through. Tell her it was all your fault that she's about to become a mutilated mess. Tell her if you had just done what you were told, she wouldn't be in this pain."

"Stop," N cried letting his tears run down freely. "She doesn't deserve this." Blaise's screams seemed to echo in his ears as the Bisharp continued to carve into her flesh. He was overwhelmed by the furious screams from Kai as well as the more innocent and scared cries from Arrow, Tanya, and Jasper. "Stop!" N screamed.

"Oh, my poor king," Osamu replied snidely. "We no longer listen to you. Besides, it's about time you learned there are consequences to your actions. Last summer you ruined our Master's plans and left all his followers to suffer the consequences of your selfish decisions. This is no different, but this time," Osamu then forcibly slammed N into the glass and pressed his face against it giving him a clear view of the carnage happening in front of him, "You get to see every last second of it."

By the time the Bisharp was finished, N had broken down sobbing. He watched helplessly as a brutally tortured Blaise was thrown down into her own pool of blood while whimpering about the intense pain she was in. N fell to his knees as he repeatedly whispering, "I'm sorry," to Blaise's still figure.

"She's still alive," Katashi said callously. "Just like we said we'd leave you. She's strong, probably live for a couple of months before she finally dies."

"You're nothing but monsters," N sobbed. "You're pure evil."

"Perhaps," Osamu said casually, "But we wouldn't have done any of this if you had just listened to what Team Plasma told you. All the pain you're experiencing as well as the pain your Pokemon are going through could have been avoided. You chose not to listen."

N watched Blaise's torso rise and fall in ragged breaths. A pit of guilt built up inside him as he looked away from his fallen friend. The other Pokemon behind him were sobbing uncontrollably at the sight of Blaise's mutilated form having never seen anything so vicious or cruel even in the wild. N had been prepared to face brutal torture from the Shadow Triad and he'd resolved to face it all bravely no matter the pain. Trixie had also agreed to this, and though it was horrifying to think about her torture and death, they'd both resolved to push through and not give in. But this was different. His Kalos friends had never agreed to any of this. They were being tortured without understanding why in such an atrocious manner… and it was because of him.

Katashi walked forward and kicked Blaise so that she faced him in all her horrifying gore. Takeo grabbed N by his hair and yanked his head up to make sure he saw her. They let him cry for a minute in silence before Takeo said calmly, "Master also wants you to know that you can save the Braixen. The Pokemon isn't in its final evolution so the damage can be undone, but that all depends on how well you behave these next few weeks. If you do everything Dr. Colress asks, she can be healed and evolved so all the mutilations can be negated. Master can be merciful if he wishes to be."

"There's still a chance for her?" N asked hesitantly. They had given him an ultimatum of either willingly following Dr. Colress' orders or watching Blaise die and then all his other Pokemon after that. Even though he knew it would only help Team Plasma… he couldn't stand back and watch Blaise die. He couldn't watch all of them be tortured mercilessly because of him. "Fine. I-I… I'll use… my powers," the words felt like poison coming from his mouth, but he said them anyway.

"It'll take a lot more than that to save the Braixen," Osamu said. "You'll need to be exceptionally good for him and give as much information as you can about your powers. I'd say that you'd have to go beyond that as well."

With that, Osamu grabbed N and teleported him back to Colress' lab who was flipping through his notes. Osamu dropped N to the floor in front of Colress who didn't so much as glance up from his notes as he asked, "Are you ready?"

In response, N said, "When I use my powers… it feels like I'm being torn apart while at the same time being burned. It's awful at first and it can be overwhelming because I feel so much power go through me and when I'm around other Pokemon, I feel like I can hear all their inner thoughts all at once. With Kyurem, it's even more overwhelming because he also connects with me and understands my voice. The Pokemon around me will eventually be quiet, but Kyurem's different because it's more of a mutual understanding."

Colress finally looked over at N who was enveloped with the same icy blue light he had been before and smiled at him. "Excellent, after we've recorded your base stats while using your powers, we'll be ready to move on to the next stage."

* * *

"Ivory, Ivory, IVORY!" I gasped and felt my body convulse as I woke up in a tangle of sheets with my comforter and pillow w flung to the other side of the room. Mom was sitting at the edge of my bed trying to hold me down with Nightstar hovering next to her with his eyes brimming with worry. "Ivory, it's okay. You're home. You're safe." She hugged me and held me close as I trembled violently in her arms. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I-I had another nightmare. It was so awful," I sobbed into Mom's shoulder. "They were torturing… him. Then there was blood everywhere. Oh Mom… it's my fault. Everything's my fault. If I'd just said something. I'm so horrible."

"Ivory, stop," Mom said firmly as she brushed some of my brown hair away from my eyes. I looked up at her and realized that she'd been crying along with me. "Ivory, you were just doing the best you could with what you knew. You were trying to protect a person you love and care deeply about. You would have never done any of this if you had known what would happen. Besides, it's Team Plasma that are to blame for all of this. They're the ones going around hurting people. Not you and not N Harmonia."

"But Mom… I shouldn't have told the truth. The League is really upset by it… and… and… Black and Cheren are angry… and then Hugh… Arceus Hugh is dead because of me… and N… oh Arceus. All those people are dead. There's nothing I can do to stop it. Mom, it's all my fault."

"Oh, Ivory I wish I could take this from you," Mom said. "I wish none of this had happened to you and that I'd be the one going through this pain and not you." She then leaned back and said, "It doesn't change the fact that you were trying to do the right thing. Ivory, I want you to know that you are a kind, caring, compassionate person. You are so open to others and willing to stand by them even at your own expense. Anyone who has you as a friend should consider themselves lucky. As for the League, Black, and Cheren, they're not really mad at you. They're mad at Team Plasma. Team Plasma is the one that killed those people and they're the ones that kidnapped N, but they aren't around to punish and so they take out their frustrations on others. Trust me when I say that Black is more angry at himself than he is at you or even N. He blames himself for this just like you're doing now."

"But it is my fault!" I cried while I buried my head into Mom's shoulders. "I wish they'd killed me rather than make me go through this Distortion World. N made me promise that I'd move on if anything happened, but how can I when he's still out there with them. How can I when there are five people dead because of me."

"Ivory, that girl, Rosa, made that horrible book for you just to make you hate yourself. She wanted you to think that all this happened because of you, but that's not true. They had that picture of you and N together before Driftveil which means they were going to take N no matter what the both of you did. The police officers, Hugh, and that girl Alice were all willing to die for the League regardless of your actions. What makes their deaths seem so painful is that if felt like their deaths were in vain. Team Plasma got away and they left us to see their destruction. It hurts. I know it does, but you have to not let those deaths be in vain. It's why Black and Cheren refused to come back home to Nuvema Town. They wanted to work with the Pokemon Masters to stop Team Plasma once and for all. They're doing it for Hugh's sake as well as his family and ours."

Mom pulled away and looked at me with a small smile. She placed her hand on my cheek and said, "You can also honor their deaths by not letting Team Plasma hurt you like this. They want you to blame yourself and feel all these awful things. They want to destroy the wonderful person that is Ivory Greystorm. Don't let them. Be strong. Be strong for yourself and for your friends. Be strong for N. He doesn't have something that you have."

"Freedom?" I asked dryly.

"Parents that love him unconditionally like we love you and Black," Mom said as she kissed my forehead. "Ivory, you're not alone. You have people that love you and are willing to help you. You just have to let them in and trust that you truly are a person worth loving. I know that this hurts right now, but you're stronger than you know. You can make it through this and your dad and I will be with you every step of the way. Black, Cheren, and Bianca are there for you too."

Nightstar angrily jumped on Mom's shoulder and said, "Shiii!?"

Mom laughed and said, "And how could I forget your best friend in the entire world, Nightstar. He'll always be there for you. Literally."

I felt my heartrate slow down as I let myself relax in Mom's arms. I felt warm and safe with her. "Thank you, Mom. Thanks for… everything. And thanks for not hating me for… for… everything. Thanks for not hating me for loving N and… and not doing the right thing in telling the League."

Mom laughed a little and said, "Oh, Ivory. I knew you were in love with N probably before you knew it." I pulled back and stared at her in surprise as she explained, "When you called home last summer, you would always talk about N. Oh, you'd act like there wasn't anything between you, but you can't fool your Mom. I think I knew when you were in Castelia City. You twirled your hair whenever you talked about him and he was the main focus of what you talked about. Not to mention, your dad had top security clearance in the lab so he knew about you and N."

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as a blush began to appear and I said, "Why didn't you guys tell me that you knew!?"

Mom shrugged and said, "We figured that was something you would want to tell us yourself and not have us drop that on you." Mom smiled at me sadly and said, "You did pick a tough one to love though. I doubt it will ever be easy to love N Harmonia. He's… well…" Mom pursed her lips for a minute before she slowly said, "Well… let's just say he's different. I don't think we can fully understand who… or what… he is, but whatever it is about him makes him special in a bad way."

I actually laughed a little and said, "Concordia said something like that when N and I were kids. I wanted to take N to see Nuvema Town, but she said bad people were looking for him because he's special. I didn't know how right she was. It's funny because when you're a kid you want to be special with cool powers, but as you get older, you realize that it's actually great being normal."

"Well, you'll always be special to me."

I rolled my eyes and said, "That has got to be the cheesiest, mom thing I've ever heard you say."

"Yep, and I mean every word of it. It's only three right now, why don't you go back to sleep."

"Will you stay with me until I go to sleep?" I asked as I burrow my way under the blankets and comforter Mom draped over me.

"Of course."

**A/N: N's section was some Colress exposition that he's not human and his powers are strange. N refuses to use his powers for Colress which causes the Shadow Triad to come and torture his Kalos Pokemon to a point where he has to choose between not using his powers or saving them.**

**N and Trixie were basically in Kamikaze mode where they've decided they're going to kill themselves rather than let Team Plasma have their powers. N doesn't want Trixie to be hurt, bit both of them had decided to take the torture before they would give in. His Kalos Pokemon didn't agree to any of that which makes it all the more painful. Especially because N feels so connected to Pokemon and thinks of them as his equals and friends.**

**Also, yes they are trying to brainwash N. If you notice, Colress doesn't refer to N as human and doesn't use his name (specimen 14 is because n is the 14****th**** letter of the alphabet) which is stripping him of his identity. They're making him feel guilty about what he's done and saying the reason he's suffering is because of himself.**

**Ivory and her mom are a foil to what happened to N. It's also meant to show that N doesn't come from a good home (Ghetsis is literally the worst. He doesn't go around killing people like I've seen some fics say he does… instead he manipulates them emotionally, socially and yes sexually. I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but I made Ghetsis love Melody and made the Sages his friends because it means Ghetsis can feel things and isn't just a rampaging monster like the Shadow Triad. That just makes him worse because he's choosing evil instead of just being evil. Also, his love is messed up.)**

**If there's anything that makes you uncomfortable or makes you feel there should be more warnings, let me know. I want you to enjoy the story and not feel bad or upset. Although, I will say there's a time and a place for evil so that you can better see the good.**

**Also important spoiler note: This story does have a happy ending. This isn't a torture fic and I mainly have this scene so that you won't be like: Why is N doing anything for Team Plasma!?**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

"Nothing, nothing, and oh look, a whole ton of nothing," Black grumbled as he shoved another useless file on neo Team Plasma aside into the already heaping stack of documents and case files on Hugh's desk in his old office. "A giant Frigate that looks like it belongs to a band of pirates can't just disappear off the coast. They're out there somewhere, and someone in all of the Unova Region has definitely seen them."

Cheren sighed as he turned off his phone when he heard the automated voice say the other line was currently unavailable and said, "I'm sure there is, but all of Hugh's old contacts he has listed have either disconnected their phones or aren't answering. They're probably terrified by what happened at Driftveil and have all our contacts have decided to either lay low or break off all contact. We've even lost most of our low-level neo Team Plasma informants as well since they don't want to have the same fate as Alice."

"Arceus, I hate this," Black growled as he began pacing the office back and forth. "We've been tracking down dead leads or trying to find nonexistent informants for a while now and we still haven't found anything. It doesn't help that neo Team Plasma has gone completely to ground without a trace. They don't even vandalize League property anymore. It's almost worse than a sudden wave of attacks from them. At least then we could actually do something instead of checking paperwork for clues."

Cheren leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose slightly as he tried to focus. "I know. It's like the calm before the storm. The Pokemon Masters haven't been having much luck either with patrolling the southern ports of Unova. At least we've gotten a tip that there's some heavy Team Plasma activity near Nuvema and Accumula Town." Cheren paused for a minute before saying, "We have to be missing something or maybe we're just not looking for the right things…" Cheren then pulled out the ledger they'd gotten from Virbank City and he scanned through all the materials neo Team Plasma had bought.

Black tapped his foot impatiently and grumbled, "We've been through that ledger over a thousand times. Professor Juniper said that the scientific equipment they bought was to study energy output as well as frequency waves. Not all that surprising since we know that they've built a device that can literally control Pokemon and even override a Whisperer's command."

"The melted Bronzong and Metagross metal is still weird though," Cheren said as he flipped through the ledger and added, "I've read that theoretically it can be used to create a psychic link between the owner and whatever device or object is created from that metal. I'm pretty sure the Galar Region ran an experiment with these melted metals and found that phones made with this would automatically link to the owners' mind making it easier to control and navigate. It was too inhumane though and then they switched to Rotom phones."

They continued searching through old files again in silence before Cheren said, "Maybe… maybe we've been looking at this the wrong way. Maybe we shouldn't focus so much on what they're trying to make, but rather how they're going to make it. This equipment takes massive amounts of energy to run and unless they have a whole farm of electric type Pokemon in their Frigate, they probably have to stay close to the shore to refuel."

"But Red and the others have been up and down all the port cities searching for the Frigate. Not to mention the coastal guard. They would have seen something by now."

"Not if they're relying on a different source of energy other than the power plants," Cheren said. "Most cities are run from the electricity and energy generated from rural farms, but there are also places that run on hydro energy generated by dams and more often, water type Pokemon. Cities like Undella Town, Humilau City, and Village Bridge are powered solely by hydro energy. Neo Team Plasma operates on a Frigate so it would make sense that they would try to siphon energy from the hydro plants around Humilau City. Maybe we shouldn't focus so much on southern Unova and try moving up north along the coast."

Black considered that for a moment and said, "It seems like a long shot, but… it's completely possible. We can tell the League our theory and then head up north to just do the footwork of asking around and seeing if anyone has seen a huge black ship."

"It's worth a shot," Cheren said. "While the Pokemon Masters take on the south, we'll look to the north."

* * *

"Crime has started to run rampant these last several weeks as the League has redirected more and more time and energy into finding neo Team Plasma. Just last night, a woman from Lacunosa Town reported that his home was broken into and had several heart scales, rare scales that can only be scavenged for along the more dangerous waters, stolen from his safe. Unfortunately, the police were unable to respond in time since they had received an odd tip that someone had not only seen several neo Team Plasma members along with the Plasma Frigate. The police along with the local Gym Leader and the Opelucid City Gym Leader looked all along Route 12 and the river to see if there was any sign of neo Team Plasma, but to no avail. Unfortunately, this has become a common occurrence throughout the Unova Region and neo Team Plasma has continued to remain frustratingly elusive.

"On the topic of neo Team Plasma, the League has still not come out with any official statement on the events at Driftveil City nearly two months ago. Aside from the leaked information that a League member, a neo Team Plasma informant, and three officers were all killed along with the arrest of a few Plasma members, the League has remained silent on all the events that happened that night. Some of the volunteers that helped with the raid claimed that there were trainers that disappeared that night as well, but the League still gave no information regarding that.

"Many conspiracy theories have begun circulating about what might have happened just as they did last summer after the League had managed to summon Reshiram and defeat Zekrom and the Plasma King. These theories range from-"

"Okay, that's enough of that," I muttered as I switched off my phone so that I was no longer listening to the news. I finished brushing my teeth and avoided looking at my reflection to avoid seeing the dark circles under my eyes or my pasty white skin. I finished combing through my thick hair before putting tying it into my ponytail.

When I finally left the bathroom, I saw Nightstar hovering at the top of the stairs peering down in a way that I knew he was trying to listen to something. That's when I noticed a series of muffled noises coming from downstairs. 'Was Dad back home already?' I wondered. He had gone to the Alola Region for a research conference and wasn't supposed to be home until next week so that didn't seem very likely.

I couldn't really make out anything that was being said, so I just walked downstairs with Nightstar trailing close behind. I walked by the kitchen and family room were to the front of the house. I heard my mom say, "-it's funny because you don't really sound like you're from the Kanto Region. When I was younger, I went on a study abroad in Cerulean City and-" I walked into the sitting room where my mom was sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in her hands. She looked over at me and said, "Ivory! You're up. I was going to wake you up earlier, but Yellow and I started talking and I figured you'd be down here soon enough."

I glanced over to the couch by the wall closest to me and saw a man with dark black hair and eyes. He was dressed in athletic looking clothes and I immediately noticed his Whisperer badge along with his Pikachu who was sitting on the couch next to him. He stood up and said, "Ivory Greystorm, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Yellow and this is Storm," the Pikachu next to him had hopped up and excitedly waved when Yellow said his name. "I'm here with the Pokemon Masters."

"Oh, so you probably know Black then," I said. I looked down and away from Yellow as I said, "Um… have you found anything?"

"Not yet, but we have… noticed something that there's been some odd activities going on not too far from Nuvema and Accumula Town. We don't know what it is, but we think that it might have something to do with neo Team Plasma."

"So... are you… are you going to ask me questions about… um… because I've already told the League everything I know," I said quietly as I hesitantly glanced up to see his reaction.

"I do want to ask you questions, but I imagine that I'll be answering more of your questions than anything." I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but Yellow had already turned to address my mom, "Thank you so much for making that tea Mrs. Greystorm, it was delicious. If you wouldn't mind, may I speak with Ivory in private."

"Of course," Mom said as she quickly got to her feet and moved to leave. "You two have a good chat. If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen."

I looked suspiciously over at Yellow again and said, "Are you really a part of the United Regions and the Pokemon Masters?"

Yellow considered this for a moment and said, "If you're asking whether I work with the Pokemon Masters, then yes. If I'm working on behalf of the United Regions, then yes. I was endorsed to work on this case by the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, and I've worked alongside Red, Ruby, and Pearl for over a year now. However, I won't lie to you and tell you that's the full truth. My loyalties aren't with the League and I answer to someone else. It just so happens that the Leagues interests and ours currently line up."

"Wait, wha-" I started, but Yellow stopped me when he turned back to his bag and pulled out a small rod and handed it to me. I stared at the small finely carved wooden stick and slowly rolled in my hand. I paused when I felt the edge and bumps carved alongside one side of the stick. I rotated it and saw that a name had been engraved along the edge of it, 'Concordia.' Yellow then placed his hand on the rod and I swear his hand became… warmer… or something. Suddenly, both sides of the rod elongated so that it became a long fighting stick. "Oh, my Arceus. Concordia. How did you ever find this? Concordia's been gone for over six months!"

"She gave it to me," Yellow said simply. "When I asked her about you, she said that you were the little girl N had met and brought back to their home in Discordian Wood. She said that you were a very sweet, carefree girl that loved to play with Pokemon and N. She said the thing she remembers most about you was that during the wintertime you would sometimes visit with a backpack you had filled with food from your home."

I stared blankly at him and vaguely realized that my mouth was currently hanging open as I stared at him. I said, "Concordia left the Unova Region to go to the Sinnoh Region to find the… the… the Celestas."

"Yes," Yellow said as he again placed his hand on the fighting stick which then retracted back into a small wooden rod, "And she found us."

I again found myself gaping at him, but now my mouth was moving up and down in an attempt to say something, but no sound was coming out. Finally, I stuttered, "You-you're a Celesta. You're like… Concordia, Anthea, and… and N?"

Yellow smiled and said, "Yes and no. I'm a Celesta, but I'm not quite like them."

I felt like a million questions were exploding in my mind and I didn't even know where to start or even really how to phrase them, so I ended up saying things like, "How-what is a Celesta? Why don't people know you exist or do people know and they just don't say anything? Does the League know? Why were Concordia, Anthea, and N here in the first place? Why do you have pokeballs if you're a Celesta? Are there-"

"Ivory, Ivory, slow down," Yellow said with a slight laugh. "I promise I'll answer your questions, but I can only answer them one at a time. You're asking great questions, but most of them are a bit difficult to explain without first having a good background. First tell me what you already know about Celestas."

"I studied a lot about Celestas after I'd talked to Concordia and Anthea about it, and from what I could find, most historians think that a branch of Celestas existed in the Kalos Region originally when humans were all divided up into tribes and survived by hunting Pokemon and gathering berries. Celestas were more advanced, and they developed methods of farming and from there they spread throughout the Kalos Region and later to other Regions like the Unova, Alola, Galar, and even going as far as the Sinnoh Region. Historians say that even though they were conquerors that established themselves as the main power of each Region, they primarily spread their influence through their art and advanced technology.

"Most people don't believe the myths so much since they're so controversial in their portrayal of the gods, having the Celestas talk to Pokemon, and the fact that they semi worshiped their royalty. I read a lot of their myths too and they're interesting and fun… but kind of weird."

"Good, I'm glad to see you did a lot of research into Celestas," Yellow said as he sat down. "I'll admit that a lot of what you'll find is mixed with both truths and lies. I think the first thing you should know about Celestas, is that they aren't normal humans."

I sat across Yellow and said, "I kind of figured that with you being able to talk to Pokemon and summon Legendaries."

"Most Celestas can't summon Legendaries… in fact there are only two Celestas born every generation that can do that. I guess in your generation there were three… but that's definitely the very, very extreme exception and not the rule. Anyway, those two are considered royalty and the myths aren't wrong about most Celestas think of them more or less as demigods and most don't think of them as human."

I stared at him for a moment and said, "Wait are you saying that N's not… human… and… and… if not… what is he?"

"Now we're getting into the original mythology, most of which has been lost so the outsiders… I mean people like yourself don't really know it. In ancient times, humans used to fully worship the gods both night and day. They had high priests that would try to speak to the gods, most of whom were killed, and they would pay tribute which would sometimes include human or Pokemon sacrifice depending on which patron god they paid homage to. The Celestas were said to worship the god Yveltal who demanded human sacrifices. The original royalty, Caleb, was said to have prayed to Arceus for deliverance so that he could save and protect humankind from the wrath of the gods. Arceus is said to have transformed Caleb from a human to something else entirely giving him the power to connect with the Legendaries. The Celestas were also changed and gained the ability to speak with Pokemon. From speaking with the Pokemon, the Celestas learned to farm and raise crops while their kings and queens protected them from being destroyed by wrathful gods. Caleb promised from that point on that he and all his species, or his descendants, would continue their role in protecting humankind."

"Wow… so…" I tried to process what he was saying, but it was honestly so weird. Finally, I said, "I'm still confused… so you're not human because of these powers."

"More accurately it's because we don't think the same way humans do much like Whisperers don't think like humans."

"Wait a minute, I'm totally a human," I huffed. "I feel pain, I hate school and get average grades, I," now I look back down at my shoes and noticed that my vision began to blur as I stared at our carpeted floor. 'Keep it together Ivory,' I reprimanded myself, "I… I… I make mistakes that I pray to Arceus I could fix. I'm just like everyone else."

Yellow just shook his head and said, "No, you're not. No Whisperer is, and it's not because of your abilities or really your biology. Whisperers just… think differently than humans. They think much more like Pokemon do which is why they're able to connect to them so easily." I was about to protest, but Yellow cut in, "Think about it. Whisperers have the power to easily overthrow the League if they all decided to band together, but they don't. You have the power to go out and destroy Nuvema Town, rob banks, and yes kill people. Perhaps Pokemon Masters could stop you, but if you worked with a group of Whisperers, you could probably stop them. You could easily train Pokemon and take the world by force, but it doesn't happen. Whisperers going rogue is a rarity and most of the time there's someone else behind it. Whisperers are highly trafficked by Team Rocket because most Whisperers when they're bought and sold don't fight their new slave masters tooth and nail as long as they're treated well. The League also uses this to their advantage since they encourage young Whisperers to go into certain careers and fields. They also don't really send Whisperers to prison and instead have them under surveillance continually using their Whisperer abilities."

"I… I… I don't know why that is, but um… well… it's because… because…"

"You think more like Pokemon," Yellow concluded with an air of finality. "Ivory, Pokemon don't actively hunt humans or destroy them for ruining their territory. They may hunt and kill humans, but it's only for food and never for things like revenge or power. Humans dominate this world not because they're more powerful or more intelligent, but because they have ambition and drive. Humans have a desire to make things easier and more effective, they aren't content with sleeping in a pack and then going out to find food. They try to make their lives better and I must say it really isn't all that bad. The skyscrapers in Castelia City are gorgeous and modern technology is amazing and ever so convenient. Pokemon have the ability to create these things for themselves, particularly psychic, dark, ghost, and fairy which are the most intelligent types of Pokemon, but they don't because they're content with what they have and don't see the need for more. You'll be surprised how many Pokemon philosophize over the meaning of life or even basic ideas of what it means to be good and evil, but none of them feel the need to create a civilization.

"Another fundamental difference between humans and Pokemon, is that most Pokemon recognize and follow alphas. They don't question their alphas decision and follow through without hesitation. If a human can establish themselves as an alpha, then they can control those Pokemon. That's what they did before pokeballs, but now, humans rely on pokeballs to be able to try and create more of a connection with their Pokemon. Whisperers aren't alphas though. Pokemon view Whisperers as friends that need help and they're willing to go against their alphas commands unless the human has fully asserted himself as the alpha like Pokemon Masters do. Whisperers are like Pokemon in the sense that they too recognize and follow alphas as well as rarely having the desire to become a recognized figure of great wealth and importance."

"I'm so confused… I mean…" I shook my head and pinched my skin and said, "But… but I feel pain like a human, they're my friends, and I… Oh Arceus I'm confused."

Yellow smiled patiently and said, "Ivory, just because you're not like a human doesn't mean you don't belong with them. Your friends and family care about you for who you are not what you are. People sometimes have a hard time understanding this since they mainly accept things that look and act like themselves, but it doesn't really matter when it comes to people that love you."

'I guess it kind of makes sense,' I thought to myself. True, I had sometimes been annoyed that my life was a bit planned out, but I never once thought to myself that I wanted to change it… or that I could get more by exploiting the system. I had always assumed because I came from a good home and family, I didn't want to break the rules, but maybe it wouldn't have mattered. Maybe Yellow was right. I looked up and said, "I guess it makes sense. It's just weird to think about."

"Celestas are a lot like Whisperers in that sense," Yellow continued. "It's why Whisperers tend to join more often than humans."

"Wait you can join and become a Celesta?" I asked. "I thought you just said you were born into it."

"Royalty's born… and… I'll get to them in a minute. Anyway, no one is born a 'Celesta' in the sense that they gain powers and can speak to Pokemon. Take the example of how two fully evolved Pokemon won't have an offspring that's born fully evolved, Celestas have altered DNA, but it isn't passed along to their kids. Each child born in the Celesta Society is given the opportunity to see the outside world and choose to join the Celestas or to leave. Sometimes humans try and answer their own life questions," Yellow said while pointing to himself, "And they run across the Celestas who offer them both answers and an opportunity to join a new Society apart from humanity. I mean, there are steps to joining such as being considered worthy, learning the history of Celestas, and agreeing to live by all the rules, and of course the actual transformation itself."

"Wait how are you transformed?"

"Well… it's hard to explain and I can't really remember most of it, but there's a god named Deoxys that basically does it," Yellow looked over at Storm and said, "It wasn't the most pleasant process, but neither Storm or I regret it." Yellow then turned back to me and said, "Now to Celesta royalty… or alphas if that makes more sense to you."

I leaned eagerly forward and said, "Yes, I have so many questions about this. I mean… I love N and I'm grateful that he's alive… but… I mean… he has a horrible dad. You said royalty's genetic. I mean, what the Distortion World happened with all that?"

As I said this, Yellow's eyes darkened and said, "Royalty also don't act and think like humans, but in an entirely different way then Celestas or Whisperers. The reason royalty is born is primarily because they're a different species from humans, and a human wouldn't survive being turned into one. The power that royalty has naturally within themselves, would literally rip apart a human's cells from the inside out." Yellow sighed and said, "Royalty think differently than humans do, but unlike normal Celestas, they're born to be alphas which means they'll be more opinionated and assertive and expect others to follow them rather than the other way around. When history talks about Whisperers ruling the land, they really meant Celesta royalty. They're very powerful and luckily, they too aren't like humans. They have a natural disposition to help others and to be compassionate, but their power can… be very destructive. They aren't greedy or power hungry because they already know that they're more powerful than everyone else."

"Um… no offense, but why would you follow someone like that?" I asked. "I mean… they kind of seem stuck up."

"Well, I won't disagree that most adolescent royalty tend to be arrogant, but that's only a phase. When most royalty reach adulthood, they typically understand that their powers can't solve everything and can even make things worse. They listen more to their Guardians and the royal counsel before deciding on anything. However, your original question isn't about what normally happens, it's about what went wrong."

Yellow sighed, and said, "I don't know what happened exactly between Ghetsis and Melody, but I imagine he convinced her that Celestas and our way of life is wrong. It would go against Melody's nature to try and take over a Region purely based on selfishness and the need to be recognized. Most likely, Ghetsis redirected Melody's goodwill to match his interests. It really isn't surprising that Ghetsis formed a group like Team Plasma that "helps" Pokemon and promotes equality. It would be very easy to convince Royalty that if they led a "good" organization, they could use their powers to make an entire Region better. I will have to say that Ghetsis is one Distortion World of a liar and con artist to manage to convince Melody to have a child that inherited all her powers. It means that both of them planned on establishing themselves at the head of the government and then furthering their own legacy and political ideology through their descendants."

"Oh… and I guess I can see what you mean by humans," I said quietly. "There will always be a bad guy out there that sees something that will make him stand out from all the others and then twists it and uses it to their own advantage. It's sick."

"Yes, it is," Yellow said with an edge of anger creeping into his voice. "Ghetsis was doing the same thing with his son, and the man's so bent on ruling the world that he's willing to destroy countless lives to do it, and that's why I'm here now."

I straightened and said, "Okay, what is it?"

"Ivory, there's one last group of people in our society that I didn't talk about. The Guardians."

**A/N: Lots of exposition and world building, sorry! There'll be more action soon!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

Chilling wind swept through the dark pine trees that blanketed the Giant Chasm while thick fog curled around the bushy undergrowth and gnarled limbs of the blackened tree trunks. Dr. Colress' lab coat swept to the side as the wind blasted through the valley bringing a wave of icy frigidness that would have made most men shudder, but Colress instead sighed contentedly as he watched his breath curl around him in a white vapor. He glanced over at a group of Deerling huddled together and shaking violently in a desperate attempt to warm themselves from the brutally cold weather. Colress smiled slightly as he noticed that the vibrant orange fur of the Deerling had started to shift to the ugly brown of winter in response to the cold.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Dr. Colress asked glancing over to his colleagues who were all bundled in thick clothing and shivering slightly. "The idea that creatures of unknown origins and essence have the ability to create such an impact on the world we live in." Colress glanced down at his tablet where he was receiving a continual stream of information from the lab on the Plasma Frigate as well as the Unova news and said, "Kyurem's amplified glaciate spread across all the Unova Region has decreased the temperature to lower levels than Unova's coldest winter. Places like Lucanosa Town have reached as low as -58 degrees and already the Unova crops have felt the effect. A pity really since the Unova Region is already suffering from a drastic economic downturn and this will only further the crisis. The amount of power Kyurem's attack would have if focused on a single point-"

"Yes, yes it would be devastating," Zinzolin said sharply. "Now doctor, if you don't mind, please continue with your experiment since none of us want to stay outside in this ice box any longer than is necessary." Peter and Jackson said nothing, but they shot grateful looks at Zinzolin since both already had blue lips and were trying to stop shivering.

Colress sighed impatiently at being interrupted, but he merely nodded and turned on his recording device, "Experiment number 73, after studying the frequency waves naturally emitted from Specimen 14, I've worked on recalibrating the Pokemon control device so that it imitates those same waves. After studying the charts, redoing the math several times and after multiple failed attempts to mimic those frequencies on the device, I've finally been able to replicate the pattern. It has so far been a success on all the test subjects I've been working with, but I will now conduct a field test on the Pokemon in the location known as the Giant Chasm."

Colress activated the device and almost immediately all the noise of the Pidove cooing in the treetops or the Clefairy singing their eerie song ceased. Soon the coniferous forest was alive with the sounds of clomping feet and vegetation being mercilessly shoved out of the way. Trees groaned and some even bent slightly as massive Pokemon such as Haxorus, Piloswine, and Metagross emerged from the thick fog and into the meadow where the Plasma members stood. Colress' eyes lit up in delight as he saw entire clans of Pokemon standing dutifully along the edge of the meadow with their eyes focused on him. The Deerling which had before been nuzzling each other for warmth and comfort now stood solemnly apart from one another like a line of foot soldiers awaiting orders from their commander.

"The response time of the wild Pokemon has increased just like it did in the trial runs," Colress said excitedly, "And the sheer volume of Pokemon that responded has astronomically increased. My original device would have only been able to gather the Pokemon closest to this area and certainly not as many creatures as powerful as these ones here." Colress walked forward to where a Haxorus was standing silently in front of its pack of Fraxure and Axew before glancing over at a Hydreigon with two Zweilous flanking its side and a dozen or so Deinos standing behind them. "The previous device was able to only control powerful Pokemon such as Dragonite when it was specifically targeted onto one of them, but now, the device can control many of them as if it were nothing. It can control the extremely powerful," he then glanced over at several Absol staring at him along with a few Weaviles, "Along with the extremely intelligent."

"Now let's see what you're capable of," Colress said which caused the Haxorus to leap powerfully into the air causing the frosted ground beneath it to crack as it sent out a powerful dragon pulse to the tree across the meadow which blasted the top of it apart sending splinters of wood flying about in every direction and onto the Pokemon beneath them, but the Pokemon did not so much as flinch when flecks of wood and pine fell on top of them. "Hmm… it appears that the device is unable to amplify the power of the Pokemon at this frequency. Specimen 14 was able to do so not only with Kyurem but with regular Pokemon as well, but I believe that is because he is giving them his own energy. I still have been unable to recreate or even understand that energy since it still remains as much of a mystery as Kyurem's energy or the energy all Pokemon seem to naturally have."

Colress then turned to the two Whisperers and said, "Now for the final experiment." Peter glanced over at Kyoto who was standing faithfully next to him and nodded while Spade eagerly jumped off Jackson's shoulder for battle. Colress released his Beheeyem and immediately the Froakie and the Lucario shot off to fight it with Kyoto's fist beginning to glow a bright blue from the aura pulse she was generating while Spade brought out his water shuriken, but as they ran across the frosted grass, both of them stopped.

Kyoto turned to look at Peter and appeared to be saying something while the Froakie did the same with Jackson. "What are they saying?" Colress asked excitedly as he hurried across the glade to where the others were standing.

"Kyoto's telling me she thinks it would be unwise to attack you and would like to try a different approach," Peter said quietly. "Kyoto, you know this is just an experiment and that it's all just Dr. Colress' device. Nothing will happen if you attack his Beheeyem." The Lucario shifted her stance uncomfortably and Peter said, "She still doesn't like the idea of attacking the Beheeyem because she's worried… it'll upset you. She doesn't want me getting hurt by going against you in the case that you decide that you hate Team Plasma and would want revenge on us both."

"Spade is saying something along those lines too," Jackson said. "He told me that I should talk to you instead since he knows he can't win a fight against you."

Zinzolin smiled and said, "So, the device can make even Whisperer's partner Pokemon stop fighting. I congratulate you Dr. Colress, with your device alone, you can bring down the entirety of the Unova League."

"Yes," Colress said with a smile as he glanced around at the hundreds of Pokemon circling around them. "Yes, it can."

* * *

Wingulls and Pelipper screeched loudly as they floated along the air currents above the Humilau fishery where Black and Cheren were walking along the slick, icy board ways. Burly men dressed in thick winter jackets hurried away from the fishing boats carrying large barrels of dead Barboach, Remoraid and Magikarp and didn't so much as glance at the two trainers walking next to them. The strong stench of dead Pokemon and the salty tang of the salty air from the sea was almost enough to make Black gag, but he managed to keep a straight face as they walked by a row of butchers cleaning filleting the skin off the Pokemon and wrapping the meat up for local customers to buy.

Black cursed under his breath as he slipped on a patch of ice coating the dark wooden planks and growled, "What the Distortion World is happening to the Unova Region? It's freezing cold… everywhere. I even heard that places like the Desert Resort and Lentimas Town are reaching the negatives and that they've received their first snowfall ever. It's messed up."

"It certainly isn't natural," Cheren said as he studied a flock of young Wingull that had landed on the dock with their wings held out in odd angles due to the ice that had started to crystalize on their feathers. The Wingull cried out in pain as they pecked at the ice in an attempt to shatter it, but none of their moves seemed to have an effect on it. "Unova is one of the warmer Regions and the temperature has never gotten this low. I've heard reports from the League that not even using the move sunny day has been able to stop the oncoming frost."

"Hey dudes!" Black heard a man call from a nearby ship. Black looked up and saw an extremely tan man with dark blue hair slicked back standing on the edge of a fishing ship just docking next to the pier where they had walked to. The man jumped down from the ship and onto the planks in front of them. Black couldn't help but stare at the man's bare, chiseled chest and wonder how the man wasn't a walking Vanillish with how cold it was. "You're part of the League's neo Team Plasma investigation group, yeah?"

"Um… yes, and you must be Marlon the Gym Leader," Cheren said as he looked critically at Marlon's diver outfit and laid-back smile. "We contacted you a while ago asking for information regarding the hydro energy produced here and if there's been any neo Team Plasma sightings. You… um… didn't respond so we decided to come here to investigate personally. We looked for you in your gym, but your attendant said you're usually out with the fishermen fishing or diving."

"Oh yeah! Sorry 'bout that. I sometimes forget to check all those notifications from the League," Marlon explained with an easy smile. 'Explains why you weren't with the other Gym Leaders last summer when N attacked,' Black thought scathingly in his mind. He couldn't stand Marlon ever since he met him last winter when he was collecting the rest of the Gym Badges from the different cities. Marlon hadn't seemed to care that Team Plasma nearly stole all his Pokemon or that they were still at large and had said something stupid like the ocean accepting all different types of people. Marlon continued, "Anyway, there's no worries here! No one's seen any neo Team Plasma Frigate anywhere. All we've seen is a bunch of fish Pokemon! Sorry!"

Black's face went slightly red as he angrily growled, "Have you even asked any of your men or the sailors about neo Team Plasma? You just found out what we wanted to know right now. There's no way you could investigate the hydro plants or even interrogate the Humilau citizens!"

Marlon shrugged and said, "I'm sure if someone saw something, they'd tell me. Anyway, gotta go! I caught some great water type Pokemon that I want to help train to use in my next Gym battle."

Black and Cheren gaped at Marlon as he leisurely walked away swinging a net full of pokeballs behind his back. Black angrily shouted, "Don't you care that the entirety of the Unova Region is going through an ice age or that it's on the brink of an invasion by neo Team Plasma!? We might have a lead into neo Team Plasma and you're going off fishing and training new Pokemon for a Gym battle! You're a Gym Leader for Arceus' sake. Act like one."

"Hey man," Marlon said with a sigh of annoyance as he turned back to look at them. "The people in Humilau City accept people of all walks of life and decide what they want instead of having society tell them what's right or wrong. If people here have seen neo Team Plasma and don't want to report it, that's okay since they're deciding what they want for the Unova Region. If they do report, that's great and I'll tell the League about it."

"Are you kidding me!?" Black roared. "People are terrified of neo Team Plasma and they're either bribed or threatened into silence. If you have an attitude like that, these people will never trust you to protect them when they tell you something about neo Team Plasma. Ghetsis could walk around Humilau City and anchor his Frigate right next to your ship and everyone would act okay with it since you apparently aren't worried about them."

Cheren nodded angrily and said, "This is completely unacceptable as a Gym Leader. The League is at war with neo Team Plasma and we can't afford to have any incompetent and lazy Gym Leaders that don't care about stopping them."

Marlon seemed unphased by the comment and said, "It's chill that you don't like me dude. I want to protect my citizens, but like I always say, 'The ocean accepts all rivers' and-"

"Even if the river is polluted and full of poison?" A voice asked from behind Marlon. Black glanced behind Marlon and felt his heart sink a little. It was another weirdo. First, he had to deal with a fish guy who didn't have a bone of responsibility or care, now there was this guy who was dressed like he was getting ready to go to a renaissance fair. The guy was dressed in a blue tunic, black pants and had a fancy blue hat. To top it all off, he had a black cape with silver fastenings. "Near the coast of the Hoenn Region several years ago, there was a huge oil spill along with several tons of trash being dumped into the ocean. The devastation was so great it is said to have upset the gods and caused a radical environmentalist group to go to extreme measures to protect the ocean from further harm. The ocean cannot accept everything in its waters, and the same goes for humanity. When one human wishes to harm another, they are a pollutant and toxin to the society and must be dealt with rather than ignored."

'The guy cosplaying as someone from the middle ages is making more sense than a freaking Gym Leader,' Black thought bitterly before saying, "Exactly. Neo Team Plasma is evil, and they need to be stopped. We need all the Unovans help to stop them including the Gym Leaders."

Marlon sighed and said, "Fine. I'll go ask around and see if anything's up." He readjusted his net on his back and turned from them and leisurely walked back to the main city.

Black glowered at the man walking away and shook his head, "Can you believe that guy?"

"I'd never act like that if I were a Gym Leader," Cheren said with his fists clenched tightly. They both glowered at the diminishing figure of the Gym Leader before Cheren looked over at the young man still standing in front of him. "Thanks for helping us make him see reason, sir."

The young man bowed ever so slightly and said, "It was my pleasure. You two must be Cheren Amari and Black Greystorm. My name's Riley. The Pokemon Masters mentioned that you'd be up north investigating neo Team Plasma. I happened to be looking into this area as well which was why I thought it'd be a good idea for us to join forces."

"You're with the Pokemon Masters?" Black asked skeptically. "They never mentioned a guy named Riley working with them. How do we know you're not lying to us?" Riley sighed impatiently and pulled out a pokeball with a purple coating. "Well… you have a master ball like all the other Pokemon Masters, but that just means your Pokemon are wild since it doesn't form an artificial bond. That doesn't make you one because you have- hey what the Distortion World are you doing?"

Riley had released a Lucario and a Hypno, the latter of which immediately used hypnosis on the two trainers. Before the two could drop to the ground Luke swiftly moved behind them and caught them. Riley breathed evenly and deeply as he first focused on accessing his aura abilities to see the calm friendly glow emanating from the two passed out figures before reaching down deeper and feeling the powerful, wild energy flowing into him and let it completely envelope him.

"It's your friendly neighborhood mind eraser, how may I help you?" Riley looked up and saw a seventeen-year-old with black hair and stormy blue eyes sitting on top of the beautiful glowing goddess Cresselia. "I think I'm going to start charging you for how often you need us to change people's memories."

Riley smirked slightly and thought, 'Well, you're in luck because today I don't need someone to forget something, the opposite really. I need you to tell these two humans about Celestas and who we are.'

"What exactly do you want me to say," Barrion asked. "Are you going the whole length of the Wailord and starting with, 'In the beginning there was Arceus,' or do you want the condensed, 'There are some people out there with some nifty powers,' kind of thing?"

'Keep it as short as possible. Let them know we're friendly, all the myths are true and that we're here working with the Pokemon Masters.'

"Okay, since you're too lazy to tell them yourself, one quick explanation coming right up," Barrion said with a slight smirk and before Riley could make a retort, they both disappeared in a flash of light. When they left, both Cheren and Black's heads snapped up and they stared at Riley in wonder.

"Y-you're a Celesta," Cheren whispered. "Th-they really exist. I mean… I knew about the myths and everything Concordia and Anthea told us… but… it didn't seem real… until now."

"And you're an… aura Guardian?" Black questioned. "Aura's like when you can see a person's life force… and you can trace it which is what you've been doing while you've been here in the Unova Region."

"I'm more like a Guardian that has aura abilities, but yes. That's right. I've been searching along the northern coast for a while now because that's where N Harmonia's aura seems to be the most often, but neo Team Plasma moves too often to find an exact location. I say we pool together our resources and work together. You have access to League files and authority to question random citizens outside of illegal methods, and I can talk to the local Pokemon and trace auras."

"If it'll take down neo Team Plasma, I'm in," Black said firmly as Cheren nodded.

* * *

_N slowly opened his eyes to see golden sunlight filtering through his open window and down to his bedroom floor which had toys and train tracks scattered on it. N snuggled up underneath his warm blanket and relished in feeling the soft mattress beneath him and the fluffy pillow that he and Trixie were resting on top of. Even after being here for nearly a year, he still couldn't believe that he lived in such a wonderful place that gave him all the food he wanted and made sure he was always warm. N sometimes missed his home in Discordian Wood, especially Ivory, but there were so many nice people here that let him play with toys and introduced him to new Pokemon friends that he decided being here was better than being in the woods. Especially today._

_ N's eyes flew open in excitement as he ran to his window and saw the trees bursting with white blossoms and the immaculate lawn around the mansion was a vibrant green. The Pidove out nesting in the eaves on the roof were singing a greeting to the sun while their recently hatched children squeaked out hungrily asking for breakfast. It was a beautiful spring day, but more importantly, it was his birthday._

_ He quickly ran to the bathroom and cleaned himself up because his father always liked it when he dressed in nice clothes, took baths, and brushed his teeth. In Discordian Wood, he had always slept in the same clothes and would only wash off all the dirt on him in the summertime when he could jump into the river or when Concordia and Darian the Darmatian would heat up some snow for him during the long winter months. The water was always warm here and he always had clean clothes to wear so he never had to worry about being dirty._

_ When N had finished, he sprinted down the hallway and leapt onto the banister so that he could slide all the way down the sweeping marble staircase which got him a reprimand from one of the servants. The downside of living in such a beautiful place was that there were so many rules like not yelling or running or even touching things because he usually ended up breaking them. Even though they were very strict here, they were very nice to him and they taught him all sorts of things like how to do math and read big books. Concordia had tried to teach him when they were living in the woods as much as she could, but it was hard when all she could do was write out the words in the dirt. Sometimes Ivory would bring books for him to read, but she never went through the words and the meaning like Sage Rood did with him._

_ "Good morning Lord N," Taylor, another one of the Plasma members that worked at the mansion, said as she set a plate of steaming pancakes in front of him at the dining table. "I made your favorite, chocolate chip pancakes."_

_ N eagerly ate the pancakes while Trixie ate a pile of Pokemon food Taylor had put on the table next to him. He looked across the empty table and frowned a little. He knew father had to work a lot and that he promised to come later this afternoon, but he had thought… he had thought that today his sisters would at least be here with him. He was turning ten today after all. That was a big year, double digits! N chewed slowly and felt like the pancakes no longer tasted as sweet or fluffy like they used to as he stared across at the empty chairs. Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever see his sisters again. They never came by to see him and they didn't even ask about him._

_ "Taylor, where are Anthea and Concordia?" N asked as he slowly stirred his pancake around in the sticky syrup._

_ "Lord Ghetsis gave them the day off so that they could have a fun day with you," Taylor said as she picked up Trixie's dish who had already finished eating. "I'm sure they'll come see you soon enough."_

_ "Really!" N said excitedly, all his energy coming back as he jumped from his chair and raced out of the dining hall making Taylor remind him not to knock over chairs, but he wasn't listening. All he could think about was the fun that he and his sisters would have today as he ran outside the mansion into the clear air. Concordia didn't like to play as much, but he was sure she'd love the beautiful gardens that were filled with foreign Pokemon. Anthea would probably like to play with him, and he could show her all his new toys. All he had to do was wait for them. So he waited, and waited, and waited._

_ When the sun was high in the sky and the day had started to become hot, the French doors leading to the mansion finally opened and N excitedly ran towards it shouting, "Anthea! Concordia!" but it wasn't them. Instead, his father stood in front of him. N couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was his father and not his sisters, but those feelings quickly faded as his father knelt in front of him and ruffled his green hair._

_ "Happy birthday N," his father said and handed him a present which N quickly unwrapped to reveal a small cube. "It's a void cube, and if you can solve it, you'll find a present from both me… and your mother. I know how much you enjoy formulas and solving equations, so I figured you'd enjoy solving a puzzle."_

_ "Thank you, father," N said as he started to spin the sides of the cube in place in an attempt to solve it. He looked up and said, "Have you seen Anthea and Concordia? I heard that you gave them the day off so that we could play together."_

_ Ghetsis sighed and said, "When I gave them the day off, they wanted to go into town and see the city. They wished you a happy birthday, but they're both busy today."_

_ N looked down at his new present and slowly moved the pieces into place and whispered as tears blurred his vision, "But… but… it's my… it's my birthday. I just… I just thought they'd want to be with me. I… miss them. They always said that we'd be together forever. Were they… were they… they… lying to me?"_

_ "Oh N," Ghetsis said as he embraced N and felt the boy bury his head into his shoulder as he began to cry in earnest. "I know it's hard, but you have to understand where they're coming from. You and your sisters lost so much when Team Rocket attacked you and your mother. You lost your mothers that night and afterwards all of you had to endure so much hardship out in the woods. I worry that a part of them might… resent you because you're the reason they had to endure all that."_

_ "But I… I didn't do anything!" N whispered as he looked up at his father with tears streaming down his face. "It was… it was those bad men. They were the ones who…" N choked on a sob as he went back to burying his head into Ghetsis' shoulder, "Concordia and Anthea they never… never acted like they were upset with me. They said we're… we're family… that they'd always watch over and protect me."_

_ Ghetsis calmly rocked N back and forth and said soothingly, "I'm not blaming you for what happened N. However, people sometimes keep their emotions buried from the ones they love to save that person pain. Deep down, Concordia and Anthea love you, but there will always be a part of them that hates you for what happened that night."_

_ N sobbed, "But… but… I… I thought they loved me. Do… do you hate me for what happened to mother as well?"_

_ "Of course not N," Ghetsis said. "I wouldn't have spent those years looking for you if I didn't love you. Maybe one day Concordia and Anthea will come around, but you must understand that they need to move on with their lives and having you around might be a constant reminder of everything they lost." Ghetsis stood to his feet and gently lifted N's head so that he could look at his tear streaked face and continued, "I know it's hard, but you'll understand Anthea and Concordia's feelings with time. Besides, even if you don't have your sisters, you'll always have me and Team Plasma."_

_ "Yes father," N said softly as he took his father's hand and allowed himself to be led back inside the cool mansion. Even though Team Plasma and his father had become his new family, he still felt there was something special about Concordia and Anthea that could never be replaced. It wasn't just because they were his sisters. They were… more than family. N had felt as close to them as he was with Trixie, but now he knew they didn't feel the same way about him. Had they hated him all that time they were in the woods? They had argued quite a bit… maybe they had gotten angry with him because they secretly couldn't stand the sight of him._

_ As they walked inside, the mansion seemed to shift from its normal bright hues to a darker, murkier tone that mimicked what he saw all the time on the Frigate. It felt like the reality began to shift and N suddenly felt terrified as he pulled away from his father and saw that he was no longer a child but his normal teenage self. Ghetsis turned to him and said coldly, "Of course now you don't have anything. Nothing that is except a trail of destruction left by your stupidity and selfishness." Ghetsis then released his Cofagrigus who loomed menacingly in front of N._

_ N turned to run and as he did, he felt as if reality shifted even further with the mansion becoming one of the long metallic hallways of the Plasma Frigate. As he ran, he felt something cold and clammy snake around his ankle which sent him crashing to the floor. He glanced behind him and saw that the Cofagrigus had caught a hold of his foot and was now starting to reel him back into inky blackness where Ghetsis was while Dr. Colress stood to the side taking notes on everything that was happening. He heard a voice call out to him, "N, this is jus a nightmare. Please, we don't have much time. I know you're upset and confused by everything that happened and what is happening. I'm so sorry that I couldn't keep you from Ghetsis, but I'm trying to do everything in my power to help you. Please, just let me in."_

_ Recognizing the voice, N said hesitantly, "C-Concordia?" He turned from the Cofagrigus and saw Concordia kneeling in front of him, reaching out for him. She looked much older than when he last remembered her. Her hair was done in up in a braid and she wore athletic looking slacks and a yellow shirt that looked like it was from a different era, but she was still definitely Concordia._

_ She held out her hands invitingly like she had done when he was a child whenever he would run up to her to hug. N felt his vision blur as she whispered, "It's okay. I'm here now. Tell me everything that you see, and we'll come and find you."_

_ "I'm so sorry Concordia," N whispered as he looked down in shame. "I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I don't deserve to have a sister like you. I'm sorry."_

_ "N wait! Please listen, it's about-" but before she could say anything more, he felt himself pulling away from her psychically as he let his shame for the pain he'd caused her all his life engulf him. From even just existing to cruelly leaving her behind in the Unova Region, he'd always been a source of hurt for her. As he gave into these thoughts, the Cofagrigus' hold tightened around him and he suddenly felt himself being forcefully dragged backwards. He looked up and saw Concordia scream his name as she desperately lunged at him and attempted to grab his hands, but their fingertips missed by mere centimeters before he was pulled into the darkness, her brown eyes brimmed with tears being the last thing he saw before the blackness consumed him._

N jolted awake as he sat up wildly from where he had been curled on the floor and looked around at his surroundings in confusion. He felt his heart racing before he felt the dull hopelessness from seeing the eerie white walls, clear observation glass on the far side, and the one side room leading to the one private area that served as his bathroom. He glanced down at his black uniform with the Plasma insignia emblazoned on the front pocket like all the other neo Team Plasma members. His fingers ran along the cold metal of his shock collar and he saw that the group of scientists studying him and Kyurem were still outside. Nothing had changed. He was still a prisoner of neo Team Plasma and a lab Rattata. The last thing he fully remembered was directing all his energy towards Kyurem so that Dr. Colress' colleagues could study the effect it had on the Unova weather. He must have blacked out at some point and they had tossed him back in his cell to wait for him to recover.

N shook his head to clear his thoughts and his mind. He'd had strange dreams before. Last year he had vivid dreams of white castles, Kalosian villages and his sisters, but they had never been like this. Even his nightmares as a child hadn't felt so real as the dream he had just had. The memory from his birthday happened just like it had in the dream, and afterwards… it had surprisingly felt even more authentic than his own memory.

N shuddered slightly and thought about what Ivory had told him about them being his Guardians. It seemed strange to think of Concordia and Anthea as being the ones meant to protect him according to Celesta mythology. He didn't understand why a bond would happen between someone like him and humans… it just seemed strange. 'Especially because they could easily get hurt,' N thought as he envisioned Anthea nearly being blasted by a Dragonite. He sadly looked around his cold, secure cell and the scientists outside his cage and thought, 'I doubt there's anything they could do to get me out of this situation anyway.'

He'd lost track of how long he'd been trapped in the Frigate, but since every day was filled with torturous experiments, minimum food and water and little to no sleep, it felt more like one continuous day in the Distortion World. Not to mention all the other torture he and his Pokemon had been subjected to whenever he tried to defy neo Team Plasma in any way.

"Quite the dream you were having just now," N heard Dr. Colress say from behind the glass. N vaguely looked in the scientist's direction to see the familiar yellow eyes and blue cowlick of hair wrapping around his head before N stubbornly folded his arms and glowered at the wall to the side of him. "It's the first time you haven't been sedated for when you sleep and the brain frequencies your collar picked up on indicated you were using the same telepathic waves you use when speaking to Kyurem. Who were you talking to?"

N gave all his strength to defiantly raise his head and glower at the scientist saying, "No one, sir. Your readings were off."

Dr. Colress tutted slightly as N screamed out in pain from the sudden shock sent from his collar. "Now, now Specimen 14. Your collar records all your vital signs which obviously shows your heart rate. Whenever a person lies, their heart rate naturally increases just as yours did just now. Normally I'd say you lying to me would earn you an automatic visit from the Shadow Triad," N looked at the scientist in horror and shook his head before Dr. Colress continued, "But I'm in a generous mood today since I had a successful field experiment. I'll give you one last chance before I hand you over to the Shadow Triad, who did you talk to?"

N hesitated for a moment before saying, "It was just a dream. It didn't mean anything really, but… it felt like I was… talking to my sister… Concordia. She was just worried about me."

"Hmm… your sister of sorts or your Guardian as the myths say," Dr. Colress asked as he busily jotted down notes on his touchscreen. "I'll need you to tell me all the details of your dream."

N looked down at the ground as he considered all the ways he could get out of telling Dr. Colress exactly what had happened. He had the impression that Concordia wanted to keep it a secret just like he had kept her psychic abilities and Anthea's healing abilities a secret from Ivory when they were kids. He could try lying again… but the consequences would be dire for himself and his Pokemon just like they had been when he tried to escape once more and contact the League after overhearing how Dr. Colress planned on modifying his device again with N's data. He remembered how furious the Shadow Triad had been when they found him, and they had decided N needed more… 'physical' demonstrations of pain which resulted in a water boarding session… and, N sadly brushed over his now two broken wrists, insurance that he wouldn't be able to do something like that again. The screams poor Jasper had made… oh Arceus… and Kai. Kai was gone. Arceus help him, but even as he thought this, N couldn't help but agree with what his father had said to him when he was about fourteen. Arceus really didn't care what his creations did or how much they suffered.

N was too exhausted physically and emotionally to try fighting neo Team Plasma anymore. Let alone on one strange dream that he had. N swallowed the guilt he felt at giving into Team Plasm as he explained everything that had happened, when he finished, Dr. Colress smiled, "See, that wasn't so hard Specimen 14. Now if only you could swallow your pride even more and admit you're wrong and begin to help with Team Plasma's operations, you would have your name back and wouldn't have to suffer so much." With that the scientist turned and left N feeling emptier and hollower than he ever had in his life.

* * *

When Colress had left the lab N was in, he quickly pulled out his phone and made a phone call. He only had to wait a few seconds before he said, "You were right. The boy accessed his powers without him even realizing it when his Guardian spoke with him. It was a sudden change in energy that drastically pulled on the boy's energy… I'm not sure… his dreams were more in the form of a memory and he didn't mention any Legendary Pokemon or strangers… of course… like I said, the procedure can't be complete with the bond." Colress paused and his lips twitched up in a slight smile. "Of course I'll be ready, Lord Ghetsis."

**A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! This isn't a very happy chapter, but whatever!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

'There's so much more to this world than any of us realize,' I thought to myself as I flipped through the warn pages of the book Yellow had given to me to study while he was away with the Pokemon Masters. Each chapter contained a story of not only the Celestas, but other tribes scattered throughout the Regions like the Draconids in the Hoenn Region who worshipped Rayquaza, tribes in the Sevii Islands that served either Lugia or Ho-Oh or the aura guardians in the Sinnoh Region. I never really considered Unova having anything strange or unusual, but the book mentioned places like the Abundant Shrine where people to this day payed homage to the weather trio gods. There were lengthy descriptions and history revolving around the Relic Castle and Abyssal Ruins, mainly because it had been the Celestas who had lived there when they were over the Unova Region, and it even had legends of famous dragon tamers.

Each god from every Region was given a lengthy description and even ranked by power, intelligence, and how dangerous they were. I wasn't surprised to see that all the patron gods of the Regions were among the highest ranking, but I wasn't expecting to see that some minor gods, like Jirachi, were ranked higher than a few of them. Some of the descriptions also caught me off guard like when I read that the Celestas consider Victini dangerous because he's a bit of a warmonger since he relishes in victory and sometimes causes conflicts just so that he could support a victor.

There were diagrams in here about how all the gods were interconnected with each other with Arceus at the head while Palkia, Dialga and even Giratina were over the physical world while Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie governed the spiritual one. There were subcategories as well such as Darkrai and Cresselia having power over the dream realm or Solgaleo and Lunala regulating the access to alternate dimensions. What was strange was that the Celestas had decided to list their royalty under the Legendary category. They listed them as being an 'omega' type and that their power was connecting and influencing the hearts of the gods and Pokemon while at the same time having the ability to direct their power to other creatures outside of themselves. I wasn't very surprised by how high they were ranked in terms of both power and danger since several of them had caused the destruction of an entire Region before. Their biggest weakness was said to be their mortality since it often caused short-sightedness and recklessness, but apparently Arceus wanted to keep them like that so it could instill compassion for other mortal creatures. An attribute many of the other gods lacked.

My hand slid across a page depicting an image of a Guardian which had the explanation off to the side that they were humans tied to their wards by the purest form of love. This connection not only gave them power and a sense of loyalty and duty towards their ward, it helped the wards themselves feel more connected with the rest of humanity.

I sighed and closed the book before stretching a little and looking out to where Nightstar was still practicing his different moves with Eichi, a Gallade that Yellow had said wanted to help us with our training, who was busily teleporting around Nightstar to teach him how to anticipate a move when the enemy could disappear at any moment. I watched as Nightstar swiveled about in the large open field before lunging at Eichi's figure whenever he appeared. He hadn't had any success yet, and I could tell he was getting a little frustrated at continually missing. I studied the Gallade's movements for a moment before practicing what Yellow had taught me about projecting my thoughts to Nightstar and said, 'He appears behind you whenever you lunge forward. Next time, go forward and then jump back and try to land a crunch.'

Nightstar looked up at me and smiled a little before immediately following through the steps I'd told him. Nightstar lunged toward Eichi, and as he teleported, Nightstar pivoted his feet and leapt powerfully backwards, flipping in the air, so that he faced Eichi who had suddenly reappeared behind him and landed a crunch. The Gallade stumbled back a little which gave Nightstar the opportunity to discharge a blast of stored blue electricity onto Eichi. Nightstar landed to the ground triumphantly, and happily bounded over to me to thank me for helping. "How long do you want to keep training?" I asked him. "You've already been training for an extra hour after the training session you and I had together."

Nightstar flicked his tail in a way that I felt meant, 'As long as it takes before I'm strong enough to help attack neo Team Plasma.'

I gently rubbed his ears and said, "Well by this rate you'll be able to take all of them down single-handedly before Arceus' Day this winter solstice."

Nightstar nuzzled my hand and I felt as if he said, 'Oh no! You found out the gift I was planning on giving you. The entire Plasma organization destroyed with you and N reunited. It was supposed to be a surprise!'

I laughed and said, "Well, one day it'll happen. Maybe you won't overthrow them by yourself, but Black's told me that they're working with the Celestas as well. Not to mention Yellow leaving to work with the Pokemon Masters to investigate a possible Plasma base, so there's hope that this nightmare will be over soon."

Nightstar sparked his fur in slight agitation and I felt he was saying, 'I know, but I wish there was something we could do now. I hate waiting for something to happen.'

"Me too," I agreed. "Too bad no one accepts the help of a sixteen-year-old. They all expect you to keep your head down, go to school, and 'stay safe.' I mean, how can they expect us to solve a bunch of algebra equations when the Unovas Region's on the brink of invasion? If neo Team Plasma were to take over, I can't see Ghetsis asking me to find x when he's about to blast me with his Hydreigon."

Nightstar flicked his tail, 'I wouldn't let that happen, and neither would the Celestas. You're forgetting that we're not alone this time; there are people out there helping us.'

"Yeah… I just wish I was the one helping as well," I said quietly. At that point Eichi had walked over and bowed respectfully to us, and I felt like he was saying some words of wisdom or something before disappearing. I glanced down and whispered to Nightstar, "What did he say?"

I had a feeling Nightstar laughed a little and said, 'I'm kind of surprised you don't know. You've gotten really good at listening to me with all of Yellow's training that I'm surprised you can't understand a Celesta Pokemon. They communicate a lot more distinctly than most wild Pokemon.'

"Working on it, but for now the only one I can really understand is you. So spill it," I insisted.

Nightstar shrugged and said, 'Not much other than to be patient with yourself and your training. He said that we've been learning at an impressive rate and that he thinks we'll be able to join the fight soon. He then said he had to leave to talk with a Celesta named Riley.'

"That's the same one Black's working with. Yellow said he's the best aura tracker of all the Celestas," I sighed and leaned against the old tree I was sitting next to and looked up at the clear blue sky and limply hanging leaves. A slight breeze blew which snatched quite a few of them from their branches and sent them flying in the wind. "I just wish we could help. I want to fix everything we did."

"Ivory?" I heard a voice call out next to me. I looked over to the old white picket fence bordering the field and saw Bianca standing there next to it.

"Bianca?" I asked as I got up and sprinted across the field and through a pile of leaves over to where she was. I hugged her across the fence and said, "What are you doing here? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you, but I thought you were busy with college."

Bianca happily returned the hug and laughed, but when we pulled apart, I could see a tinge of sadness and worry lining her normally carefree face. She shrugged slightly, "Oh, well I just decided to only be there for a half a semester and then come back home to finish my coursework here. I'll be going back after the winter solstice holidays, but um… I just needed some time back in Nuvema Town."

"Are you okay? Really?" I asked anxiously, "Whenever we talk on the phone you kind of seem distant, and all you ever talk about was whatever experiment your class was running. I still remember when you gave me an entire anatomy lesson on a Patrat but then didn't say anything about your day."

Bianca looked down at the ground for a while, and said, "… Honestly Ivory, I haven't been doing all that great. I've talked to my mom about it, but then my dad always catches on that I'm going through a hard time and he freaks out. I just ended up burying myself into schoolwork and studies, but… I… I don't really know how to describe it, but I can't stand being with all those strangers anymore."

"Wh-What?" I asked in shock, "Bianca, you love meeting new people and making new friends…" that was when I noticed Bianca hastily rubbing her eyes to avoid showing me that she had started to cry. "Um… is this… about Rosa?"

Bianca covered her face with her hands before nodding, "I've been avoiding your phone calls and trying to focus only on school because I feel so awful about everything that happened. I was the one that asked her to join us with her research. I let her stay in my apartment, I told her secrets about myself, and I trusted her. It's… it's horrible being around a bunch of people I don't know because all I can think about is whether they're a part of neo Team Plasma or not." I immediately reached out and hugged her which only made her cry even more, "I'll never understand how you can still be so nice to me when you've been through more than I have. I can't imagine what you've been going through this entire time, and I've been such a horrible friend for not being there for you."

I pulled back and gently said, "Bianca, we both needed space to get through everything that happened, and even though what I went through was… awful… and honestly, it still is, but that doesn't mean what you went through was any less painful. You're my friend, and I care about you being really okay, not you trying to be okay for me."

Bianca squeezed my hand tightly and said, "Thanks." She confidently stood taller much like she had back at the raid in Driftveil and said determinedly, "But I still need to be strong. If not for my friends, then for myself. Ivory, I'm tired of being a victim of Team Plasma time and time again. They stole my Pokemon, they've tried to kill me on multiple occasions, they nearly took over the Unova Region, they kidnapped my best friend's boyfriend who happens to be my friend as well, and worst of all, they've ruined pictures for me! I want to help stop them in any way I can."

I smiled a little and said, "You and me both, Bianca."

Nightstar jumped onto the picket fence and said, "Shinx!" or 'Don't forget me.'

"And Nightstar of course," I said with a slight laugh. Eichi suddenly appeared right next to me which made me jump slightly while Bianca screamed and toppled down to the dirt ground. Eichi immediately leapt over the fence and politely offered Bianca his hand to help her back up. She gaped at him for a moment before hesitantly taking his hand. "Um… so Bianca, this is my friend Eichi. He's been helping me and Nightstar train."

Bianca smiled hesitantly before saying brightly, "I've never met a Gallade before! He's so cool looking! Do you know what moves he knows? I hear they're great fighters and very intelligent."

I felt kind of awkward and embarrassed that Bianca was talking about Eichi that way even though it's how most people talk around Pokemon. It was strange since Yellow had told me Eichi was one of the lead fighters for the Celestas while another Pokemon, a Lucario named Luke, was in charge of all their fighters and that Yellow reported to him rather than the other way around. Eichi didn't appear to mind though and allowed Bianca to scan him with her pokedex.

When she was finished, Eichi turned to me and said something which Nightstar quickly translated to, 'He said that he spoke with Riley and he wants to meet you.'

"What really!?" I asked excitedly which earned me a confused look from Bianca, but I continued, "I want to meet him as well, when do we leave!?"

Eichi nodded, and Bianca interjected, "Wait, where are you going? Did you talk to a Pokemon just now? What's happening?"

I glanced over at Eichi, unsure how to continue, but to my complete shock, it was Eichi who said, "My apologies, young one. I am with an ancient tribe known as the Celestas, and we have recruited your friend, Ivory Greystorm, to assist in demolishing the neo Team Plasma organization."

Bianca's eyes widened, and she stared slack jawed at Eichi before she finally squeaked, "You… you talk! How!? What!?" Bianca's face then flooded with a cheri red as she stuttered, "Oh-oh Arceus I didn't mean to be rude to you before."

"You can talk!" I nearly shouted. "You could have talked to me this entire time and I had no idea!" Nightstar at this point had broken down laughing. I felt as if my entire body had turned bright red at this, and I pulled down my cap to cover how embarrassed I was.

Eichi calmly said, "Well, I am not a Pokemon in the sense that you understand. I have chosen not to follow a Pokemon's lifestyle and have instead chosen to become a Celesta. Becoming a Celesta has granted me the ability to understand and speak with humans just as humans receive the same vise versa. My apologies for deceiving you, Ivory, but it was better for you to learn to rely on your partner to communicate rather than me speaking directly with you."

"That's incredible," Bianca said excitedly. "So, you like have to change to be able to talk." Her eyes then brightened, and she said, "And you're going to stop neo Team Plasma!"

"You're surprisingly calm about this," I noted. "I mean I had a million questions when I found out about the Celestas."

"Oh I'm kind of freaked out and confused, but honestly Ivory, we've seen a million crazy things, this isn't all that weird from that. Just think, we've seen Zekrom and Reshiram summoned, three dudes that can teleport, a device that can control Pokemon like a Whisperer and people that can talk to Pokemon. A Pokemon that can talk to people or an entire society that's different from humans really isn't that weird."

I thought about that for a moment and said, "Fair point." I turned eagerly to Eichi and said, "So, Riley wants to talk to me. Does Yellow know?"

"He is well informed of the situation, and he is in fact the one that suggested it in the first place after he had gotten to know you more," Eichi said simply. "The counsel wasn't sure of your involvement, but recent events have made them think your inclusion might be necessary."

"Does that mean you're going to fight neo Team Plasma?" Bianca asked me. I nodded, and she turned to Eichi and said determinedly, "Then I want to come as well. I don't want my friends to risk everything while I stand back and do nothing. I don't care how dangerous it is."

Eichi studied Bianca for a moment before saying, "I cannot guarantee your protection. If you encounter neo Team Plasma, they will be attacking with the intentions of killing you. You may very well die from this."

Bianca paled a little and I saw her body shake a little. She bit her lip and looked down at her shoes where she drew little circles. I thought she was going to back out, but she said, "I'm going. I'm terrified, but I guess that's the thing about being brave, you do the right thing even when you're scared."

Eichi nodded and said, "I cannot deny the strange coincidence of you coming to Nuvema Town at this exact time. It is a common belief amongst Celestas that there are no coincidences rather a designed series of events meant to rectify certain wrongs. You may come young one."

With that, Nightstar jumped onto my shoulder and Eichi grabbed my wrist as well as Bianca's. When he did, I suddenly had an overwhelming sense of weightlessness fill me as we were whisked away from our small hometown.

* * *

"This is the place where Team Plasma has set up some sort of base of operations," Iris said as she looked at the dark island in the middle of the calm lake not too far from Nuvema Town. There were tall trees covering nearly the entirety of the island with wild bushes growing along the edge which effectively obstructed any view of anything that lay deeper within the island.

"How did we find out about this place," Pearl asked as she looked through her binoculars to try and make out anything through the thick vegetation, but completely failed. "I mean, it doesn't look like the most inviting place to go to."

"This is where it gets interesting," Iris said. "You see, there have been several research groups that have gone out there to see if there's any unusual Pokemon that live out there, but each group came back saying that it was only full of Patrats and there was nothing else there. It was actually a group of fishermen who got caught up in some bad currents who came close to the island who had reportedly seen a group of neo Team Plasma members. They took one look at them and got out of there as quickly as possible before reporting it to the League."

"It seems strange to me that no one's noticed anything before this point," Pearl added. "Unless Team Plasma was there to catch a bunch of Patrat, none of those research reports make sense."

"What makes it even stranger is that Skyla had sent several flying-type Pokemon over the island with cameras attached and there's definitely a large structure hidden in the middle. It's not totally obvious since there are still so many trees, but there's definitely something there."

Iris then pulled out her pokeball and released Drake, her Druddigon, and said, "We'll have to attack quickly. Red, I want you and your Charizard with me covering the air. If there is a lab of some sort as Alice had reported to Hugh, then I want to cut off their power and attack it as fast as possible to stop them from destroying all their data of whatever experiments they're doing. Yellow, since Storm's the perfect size for breaking into the lab, he's the one that will be cutting off power."

"Pika could help with that as well," Red added as he released his own small Pikachu. "Pika likes to play dirty, and I'm sure he'd love to go on a mission that requires him to stealthily wreck all his enemies. What do you say Pika?"

The small Pikachu bounced up and down while enthusiastically reaching his paw up into the air while saying "Pikaka, Pikaka!"

"I take that as a yes," Iris said with a slight smile. "Okay, it'll be three of us that come by air, and we'll have the Pikachus attack the facility first before we come. There'll probably be heavy security around the lab which means we three will be on point to stop most of them. Pearl and Black, I want the two of you to cover the waters. Circle the island and fight any fleeing or attacking Plasma member. Ruby, I want you to be on the ground for this attack. Your Sceptile should have the advantage since you're surrounded by pretty thick growth which is something he'd be used to. Is everyone clear on what we're doing?"

"Yes sir," they all said as they each got on their respective Pokemon to head to the island.

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! I really did drop the ball with this one because I realized that I had an entire plot set up with the one problem of not properly transitioning Ivory and Bianca (primarily Bianca) back into the conflict. I wasn't sure how to fix it so I kind of went with 'And then it happened.' Oh well! I'm still learning how to write properly and next time I won't make the same mistake! Hopefully it isn't too messy!**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

**A/N: SnowCatt: Thanks as always for your reviews! They really make my day and give me the much needed confidence to keep writing! I'm glad the story's not too messy because I was kind of worried I dropped the plot before we getting to the end.**

**For all my other readers, thank you as well for reading!**

"Sage Gorm, we have the report on the Genesect Research," Dudley said as he lightly knocked on the Sage's door.

Gorm looked up from his computer and said, "Any response from it?" When Dudley shook his head, Gorm sighed and said, "Leave the file on the table. Genesect will be a great asset to Team Plasma when it's ready, but for now we may need to put it on standby. I've just been in contact with the other Sages, and Dr. Colress has finished his research. The procedure should be done soon at which point we'll be in our final stages of takeover. P2 labs will be on temporary lock down during the second invasion, but we'll reboot all our research once it's over."

"Finally," Dudley said as he sighed in relief. Gorm looked over at him and arched his eyebrows as Dudley blushed and stood awkwardly in the door frame. "I mean… um… yes, Sage Gorm. I'm just relieved Team Plasma's finally making its move."

Gorm smiled a little, "I understand your concern, Dudley. It's been almost four months since the last attack and N's capture. I know it feels like something should have happened, and," Gorm added with a slight chuckle, "I know you Dudley. You want access to the League's research to continue the Genesect project. Don't worry, it'll come with time."

Dudley smiled a little and said, "I know sir… I just can't wait until it does happen." With that, the scientist turned from Gorm and returned to the main lab to continue researching.

Gorm went back to his computer where he studied the newest experiment proposal that needed his approval when the lights in his office and his screen flickered off until the back-up generators kicked back in. 'It can't be storming,' Gorm thought as he walked from the lab and out into the main lab where dozens of scientists were scuttling back and forth to check the breakers and find out why they had suddenly lost power. He walked by several test chambers and labs filled with beakers and scientists who had all paused when the power had turned off. Several scientists who had been comparing notes also looked around in confusion.

Gorm walked to the main hall of the lab where they were working on Genesect. Several tubes and wires descended from the ceiling to a test chamber where a lifeless bug-like creature remained within. The scientists all looked around in confusion, and only the Plasma guard came up to him and said, "Sage Gorm, our security went down to check the power breakers and it appears that someone or, more likely, something chewed through the wires. We haven't heard from the other security guards since that point. We're worried that-" As he said this, the power went completely out again. This time the lights didn't come back on.

"They must have destroyed all our back up generators," Gorm said softly. "Find out who did this. Interrogate them first and then kill them. Don't bother with dosing them with Dream Mist or using Hypno like the researchers or explorers we find. Whoever or whatever's doing this is clearly attacking us. We can't let them know what we're doing in this lab. Understood?"

"Yes, Sage Gorm," the Plasma guard said as he took out his pokeballs. The scientists looked at each other nervously as a group of security guards went through a side door that led into the basement of the P2 labs.

"At least whoever did this won't be able to get out," one of the scientists said as she nervously adjusted her glasses. "The doors won't open without electricity."

"That means we're trapped in here as well though," another scientist said gloomily.

"They'll have the generator repaired once they find out who did this," Gorm said reassuringly although he himself felt nervous and anxious.

Suddenly they heard a bang echo throughout the small lab, and several of the scientists jumped a little when they heard this. One scientist yelled, "Up in the ventilation system."

Gorm glanced up and saw and heard some shuffling from behind the metal grate. Gorm immediately said, "Arceus. Does anyone have any Pokemon?"

One scientist timidly said, "I-I have a Mincinno… if that's any help."

Gorm sighed as he said, "Have it out and ready to attack whoever's coming. 'All our security is either patrolling the perimeter or down in the basements. These scientists would only have Level 20 Pokemon at most anyway since none of them went on combative journeys and practically all of them released their Pokemon.'

The ventilation vent burst open with sudden power as it sent the metal vent hurtling across the room and landed on the other side of the wall. Out of the small hole jumped a Pikachu… no two Pikachu. One looked at all the scientists before covering its face with its hands and then quickly removing them. It was like an odd game of Peekaboo. The scientist's Mincinno immediately moved to attack one of the Pikachu, but the Pikachu that had done the Peekaboo quickly one shot it with a quick attack which sent it hurtling across the floor like a rag doll.

The two Pikachu sent out sparks as they communicated to each other via electricity. Gorm growled, "Can't someone do something about these creatures? Get a pair of rubber gloves or something and grab them."

Before anyone could move, the Pikachu sprinted across the floor towards the exit and started sending a series of quick flashes in sequential order. "It looks like they're sending some sort of signal," Dudley said. "Yes… it's Morse code. N-O-W. Now. Wait."

Suddenly there was a huge thundering noise as an attack of some sort hit the lab. It shook the entire structure of the lab, and there was another sudden blast as a sudden burst of energy hit the doors of the lab. Gorm quickly turned to the scientists huddling to the back wall and roared, "Destroy any physical evidence of what's been going on here. Destroy all the computers as well."

The scientists all began to attempt to disassemble the genesect experiment while others began to put things in the shredder and others attempted to take their laptops and computers to destroy them, but the Pikachus both hurtled towards the scientists and sent out several shock waves to stop them. The scientists and Gorm screamed as the electricity surged through them and locked their muscles as they all stiffly fell in paralysis.

Another blast hit the lab, and this time the door smashed into smithereens. Gorm could only watch in his paralyzed body as a young woman emerged from the smoke of the recently blasted door. Gorm felt dread swell up inside him as he recognized the familiar slender figure, coppery skin, and deep purple hair of the Unova Champion, Iris. She came in with her hulking beast Druddigon along with four other figures. The Pikachus excitedly ran up to their trainers the minute they saw them come into clear view.

"So," Iris said as she stood in front of Gorm and folded her arms. "In Ghetsis' little chess game would you be considered a bishop or a rook? Either way, you're out of the game."

* * *

_"Do you believe it wise to trust so much information to the girl?"_ Luke asked Riley as they walked along the sandy coastline of the northern shores of Unova, _"She is an outsider and a human. Many of the Celesta traditions, customs and rituals will be alien and foreign to her. I am not opposed to the idea of the girl becoming a Celesta when she comes of age but considering her a candidate as a Guardian is… strange to say the least. Not even outsiders initiated as Celestas have become Guardians before."_

"Normally I'd agree with you, however, I'd say that there's nothing normal about this situation," Riley said as he paused to gaze out at the ocean quietly lapping against the many jagged stones protruding from the water. Thick fog curled around the rocks and hung in the air making it nearly impossible to see further than five feet in front of them. Riley closed his eyes to focus his attention on the gentle light of aura that radiated from every object both living and inanimate, "Royalty born in the outside world to a human is unheard of. Guardians bonding for the sake of saving themselves and their ward rather than it being purely rooted in love, compassion, and selflessness is just as unheard of.

"Besides, Chase makes a valid point that there are many coincidences throughout Ivory Greystorm's life that make her stand out from others. She ran into N Harmonia three times in the most unconventional ways, the first being in dangerous woods that would have resulted in her death had she not been a Whisperer, meeting on a journey of her own making the same year Ghetsis Harmonia decided to enact his plan, and just recently in Castelia Sewers of all places. Their quick development of feelings for each other, her avid devotion to him despite him being gone for a year, and the fact that she could stop him from taking over Unova when his own Guardians couldn't are also signs of their unique connection. She may be a human and without any training or experience, but perhaps that's just the person N needs to protect him and stand by his side."

Luke said nothing as he too gazed the shoreline for traces of N's aura which seemed to be emanating powerfully across the shore. _"…Perhaps, but humans do view love differently than Celestas. Are we sure she would even be able to bond with him? From what I've heard of Concordia's reports, I'm not sure if N himself will be able to since he currently has no faith in his Guardian."_

"Even if they can't bond, N will probably need her when we find him anyway. You're feeling his aura too, aren't you? It's almost sickening to feel how heavy and dark it is from constant suffering. It's like a black cloud smothering the northern part of Unova that blocks out all other auras."

Before the Lucario could respond, they both sensed two boys running across the sand towards them. Riley opened his eyes and looked to the left to see Black and Cheren run around the corner of a rugged cliff jutting out of the sandy beach and lining the shoreline. They came up to him slightly out of breath while Black panted, "We interviewed a ton of workers at a hydro plant near here, and one of them told us that there are some abandoned turbines out by Seaside Cave. Neo Team Plasma could be using those turbines to generate energy!"

"That's the good news," Cheren interjected as he straightened his tie, "but the workers also said that they doubted a Frigate would be able to come anywhere near that area since this entire area is covered with rocks. Not to mention this place is known for its bad weather."

"You sense him though, don't you?" Black asked looking over to Riley. "That means he has to be around here!"

Riley sighed, "I sense him all over this area and not in one specific location… however, I think it'd be worth investigating the abandoned hydroelectricity generators. The Plasma Frigate has managed to evade detection for a while now, I imagine it's because they're hiding in areas no one bothers looking in since it seems too ridiculous from a logical perspective."

"Then what're we waiting for," Black said as he pulled out a tablet displaying a schematic layout of the old, abandoned hydro plant. "They said that the areas around Seaside Cave are the furthest south and that the only way to access the area is by swimming or surfing on water type Pokemon. This fog isn't going to make navigating around here easy, but that shouldn't be a problem with Riley and Luke's nifty aura powers."

At that moment, Eichi appeared with two girls and a Shinx which caused Black to jump and say, "Holy mother of Arceus… Oh, it's you two." Black then stared at them blankly for a moment, "Wait… what are you doing here?"

"I asked them… well at least one of them to come. I imagine the other came because she wanted to help," Riley said simply as he walked up to one of the girls glowing with a brilliant white aura while the other glowed with an amiable yellow. "You must be Ivory Greystorm," His eyes shifted to the Shinx sitting on top of her shoulder and said, "And you must be Nightstar. Yellow's told me great things about you."

The girl's face turned a distinct shade of pink while she stuttered, "Th-thanks. You must be Riley. Eichi told me you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, and we'll be searching for neo Team Plasma as we do so," Riley said as he pulled out a pokeball and released a Lapras into the murky ocean water. I feel we're very close to wherever they're hiding, and with Black and Cheren's lead, we'll be able to find them."

"Wait a minute, they're coming with us?" Black asked incredulously while Cheren also looked skeptical. This earned him a nasty glare from Ivory while Bianca huffed and folded her arms indignantly. "Look, no offense you two, but you kind of have a bad reputation when facing neo Team Plasma. Not to mention all their admins would recognize you on sight. Just saying, it'd probably be better if they didn't come."

Cheren nodded and said, "I completely agree with Black. Not to mention, Bianca, your Pokemon are only in their Level 40s at most. Ivory being a Whisperer could be helpful, but not if we're facing other Whisperers or their device."

"Oh like you two would do any better than us," Ivory said irritably. "Nightstar's probably the most useful since he'll be able to still fight whether or not there's a device or Whisperer around."

"Enough," Luke said sharply. "The girls volunteered to come, and I see no reason they shouldn't accompany us. They may be recognized, but since you're all attacking as League members, I don't see how that'll make much of a difference."

The four exchanged glances at each other, and at last Cheren said, "Fine, but they'll have to travel on one of our water type Pokemon since neither of them have one."

"A matter easily arranged," Riley said simply, "Ivory and Nightstar can accompany me while the other, I'm sorry what was your name… Bianca, can go with one of you."

* * *

I shivered slightly in the cold as we sailed into the thick fog that seemed to cling to my very skin. I couldn't see two feet in front of me, but the Lapras, who Riley called Anahita, didn't appear to be worried. Neither did Luke or Eichi who were leaping by us from one jagged rock to the other. I glanced behind me to see Riley sitting there in an almost meditative position with Black and Bianca trailing behind on Black's Samurott, Blade, while Cheren was next to them on his Carracosta.

I looked ahead and again only saw swirling white mist. "Ivory, it was very brave of you and Bianca to come out here and help us find neo Team Plasma. Many who have been through what you two have would not be so brave."

I glanced back at Riley who was still gazing at the fog serenely, and I said, "Thanks. I don't know if I would call it bravery though. More like just wanting to do the right thing after screwing everything up… and I want to get N back."

Riley looked at me seriously, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Ivory, you're a smart girl which is why I assume you know that your relationship as it is right now won't last even after we've found N."

I shifted a little uncomfortably on Anahita's hard shell, and said, "I know. Yellow already told me that when you guys find N, you're going to bring him back to Celesta Society… and that… human guests are rare. I know that if we find N, I'll have to say goodbye to him forever or decide to leave my family and join the Celestas as well."

"Yes, it's not an easy choice which is why there aren't many outsiders that join," Riley said quietly. "It's giving up an old lifestyle for a new one with rules and traditions completely different from the outside world."

I stared down at my hands and began to silently swirl my finger along the shell. "It's… still so hard to think about… I mean, I have my family and friends here in the Unova Region. I love N, but the idea of leaving my entire life behind is really, really hard. I'll admit that I've been avoiding thinking about it and only focusing on finding N in the first place."

"Ivory… you're going to have to make that decision at some point," Riley said evenly. "You have to know what you're willing to sacrifice to be with N, and whatever that decision will be, you must live with that choice no matter the consequences."

"I… I know," I was surprised to see my vision blur as tears began to run down my cheeks, "But I… I think I've always known what I'd choose. I… I wanted to be with N even if meant that I would get in trouble with the law. I wanted him to take me with him when he left last year, and I felt so empty and useless when he was gone. I know that's like a sign of a bad relationship or something, but I swear to Arceus it wasn't like that. I can't really describe it, but everything feels so much better when N's around. Like I'm… I don't know… complete."

Riley smiled a little, "I understand the feeling. Not so much in romantic terms, but I have a younger brother whom I'm very close to. It's kind of like meeting your other half, and when they're not around you worry about them." He paused for a moment and studied my expression before saying, "Ivory, you've studied Guardians with Yellow and Eichi haven't you?"

"Well… yes… and I do know where this is going," I let out a shaky sigh and said, "Yellow said I had a lot of characteristics of a Guardian, but that's a much bigger deal than me just becoming a Celesta. Guardians protect their wards with their lives if they have to. They're absolutely devoted to them. I love N, but… I don't think I qualify for that… I mean… I've run away from N just to save myself several times."

"Hmm… perhaps, but I wouldn't disqualify you. You're coming with us now despite the danger, and you ran away before because there was nothing you could've done to stop Team Plasma. If you were bonded, you'd have the power and the courage to stop them." Riley bit his lip for a moment before saying, "But it isn't easy to bond. No matter the feelings you have for N now, they aren't enough to create a bond."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "If a bond was the only way to save N, then I'd bond with him in a heartbeat. I'd leave everything behind for him. I'd die for him. Isn't that enough?"

Riley didn't so much as blink when he said, "No. That's nowhere near enough. You see, what you're feeling is tied to the situation. 'If N's in danger' or 'if he needs me' isn't enough to create a bond. What if N isn't in danger and he asks you to leave your family and go to the Celesta Society? What if he asks you to stop pursuing a dream you had?" Riley then looked me in the eyes and said, "What if he says he doesn't love you? What if he says he doesn't want to be around you anymore and he's better off on his own? What if he said he hated you? Would you still follow him?"

I stared at him in complete shock and said, "N would never say something like that. He loves me as well."

Riley shook his head, "A part of bonding is loving your ward even when they don't love you back. That's one of the hardest realities a Guardian must face. It's much like the reality Nightstar faces with you."

At this I got angry and nearly shouted, "I love Nightstar. We do everything together."

"Ivory, Nightstar does everything for _you_, not the other way around. He's living in your home in the Unova Region rather than you following him out into the wild. He follows where you go and goes through with your decisions. He sacrifices himself for you, not the other way around. He listens to everything you say even though you don't necessarily listen to what he has to say. His life revolves around you. If you had chosen not to get involved with Team Plasma, he would've followed even if he wanted to join the fight."

I stared at Nightstar in shock, and whispered, "That… that's not true… I… I love Nightstar… I… we… um, Nightstar, what do you think of this situation."

Nightstar calmly smiled at me, and said, 'I think that I love you, and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. I'd gladly go where you wanted.' He then shook his fur slightly before saying, 'I see Riley's point, but it just doesn't seem all that important in my point of view. I wanted this life.'

"Which is exactly what Guardian's want as well," Riley commented. "In a proper bond, they'd gladly give up their time and energy for their ward's happiness. It's easy for Pokemon to understand since they view emotions and the world differently, but from a human standpoint, it's entirely selfish on the wards end." I said nothing as I watched the water churn past. "Look, I'm telling you this because you may need to know it when you do see N again. You might… need to bond with him to save him, and if you do, you'll have to understand that you're willingly devoting your life to him. You'll have to love completely even if there is no love being returned."

I continued to stare at the water beneath us and said determinedly, "If that's what it takes to save N, then I'll do it. I don't care." I looked up at Riley who was still watching me questioningly as if he didn't fully believe me. "I love N, and I really will do anything for him."

Suddenly I felt a sharp sting on my leg as the cold water splashed onto it from Blade speeding up next to us. Black and Bianca's eyes were wide, and Black pointed directly ahead of us, "I think we're in the right spot." I looked up and I felt myself go cold as I saw the abandoned hydro plant with the hum of turbines being spun rapidly from water type Pokemon blasting them with water gun, but that's not what caught my attention. Through the cold, gray fog I could see the outline of a large hulking ship amidst the turbines and jagged rocks. As we got closer, I saw large white sails, a black sleek exterior, and electric blue along the sides. "We found them," I heard Black say, "We really did it. We found neo Team Plasma."

**A/N: Wow guys! Things are really looking great for our heroes! Just think, neo Team Plasma's probably going to be stopped once and for all… right?**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

N sadly scratched another mark on the wall to the back of the cell and looked to see the dozens of tally marks he'd already inscribed on it. His fingers gently slid down the many scratches and thought longingly of the warmth and gentle caress of the sun or the swaying trees and the calls of the Pokemon. N wondered what was happening in the Unova Region… and what was happening with Ivory. He hoped that neo Team Plasma hadn't hurt her or Bianca or Black, and that they weren't suffering like he was… or dead.

As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, hope of ever escaping this living Distortion World dwindled more and more by the second until it was nearly extinguished. That all he'd ever know was endless hours of experimentation and torture until at long last Dr. Colress and neo Team Plasma were finished using him. He sat there brooding for a while until he felt a sudden chill creep up his spine. N felt himself stiffen and he turned around quickly to see Katashi standing by his cell window.

N backed up against the wall and wordlessly shook his head as Katashi advanced on him and in usual fashion, roughly yanked on both his injured wrists causing him to involuntarily cry out in pain. Katashi forcefully pulled N to his feet and hissed, "Master wishes to speak with you."

'What!?' N thought in shock. After all this time in captivity, he hadn't so much as seen let alone spoken to his father. When he had first been taken, he'd had an entire argument planned out for him to rant to his father, but now after everything he'd endured, he was far from prepared for this confrontation. Before he could further react, Katashi teleported him out of his cell and into a room with dark carpet and metallic walls.

Katashi released him causing N to fall unceremoniously to the floor, and then Katashi teleported away as quickly as he had come. N hesitantly looked up and saw Ghetsis leaning casually against his desk with his hands resting lightly on the edges. Ghetsis no longer adorned the gaudy robes from last year nor the professional attire he had commonly worn whenever making public appearances. Instead, he wore a black robe with a high collared neck that seemed to make his tea green hair and glinting red monocle seem to stand out even more. N felt fear begin to stir inside him when he saw that his father was studying him with the same cold, evaluative look he gave all his enemies.

At the same time, N was overwhelmed by the rush of intense emotions he felt surging through his veins as he looked up at his father, a man who had lied to him for most of his life and had allowed him to be tortured and experimented on mercilessly. His rational mind told him that this might be his one opportunity to reason with him, but his body reacted to his emotions rather than logic. N scrambled to his feet and lunged at his father who quickly stood straight and grabbed his arms to stop his attack. "You son-of-a-Herdier," N screamed as he struggled against his father, but his body was too exhausted from his malnourishment and lack of sleep to even put up much of a fight. Ghetsis gripped his arms tightly and said nothing as N screamed every profanity and unkinglike thing he could possibly think of.

After struggling and screaming at Ghetsis in vain for several minutes, N finally stilled with a slight shudder to collect his breath and regain some of his lost energy. This gave Ghetsis the opportunity to say calmly, "Now N, what good will attacking me do when it will only incur the Shadow Triad's wrath? Besides, I didn't summon you to my office to fight with you. I'm here to help you."

'Help me!? Those were some of the first words he said to me all those years ago when I first came to Plasma mansion' N thought savagely. 'The lying bastard… lying… murderous… willing to torture…' N felt all the emotions pent up from last summer and all last year come at him in waves of pain, heartbreak, frustration, anger and loss. He felt as if the wall he had built for himself that kept out all the pain from his losses and betrayals had crumbled allowing a river of emotions to flood through him uncontrollably. N looked down in shame so his father couldn't see the tears streaming from his eyes.

Ghetsis released his grip on N's arms and to N's complete surprise, Ghetsis wrapped his arms around him and gently ruffled his short green hair just like he'd done when he was a child. N was equally surprised when he found himself returning the embrace and burying his head into his father's shoulder and continued breaking down completely. All the agony he'd felt tore through his interior to the surface where they now manifested themselves in sheer force and physical pain. It felt like it was the first time he was properly mourning the fate of the Kalos Pokemon and Trixie along with his own horrifying reality. When at long last N's sobs had begun to subside and the pain he felt became a dull aching throb, Ghetsis finally said softly, "Oh N, I wish you didn't have to go through any of this. However, you did bring this on yourself, didn't you?"

"Fathers don't torture their sons because they didn't live up to their expectations of helping them conquer the world," N said between his tears. "They do things like… like play ball with them, and… and… encourage them to do well in school."

"And I did all those things didn't I," Ghetsis said smoothly. "I still remember when you were a child, you dressed up in my robes and said that one day you wanted to be just like me."

"I'd never want that anymore," N whispered. "You're a monster."

"Perhaps," Ghetsis replied, "But then again, most people don't have a vision for the future of Unova or a child with the power to level an entire Region."

N cried for a few moments more, but the sobs that had been racking his body subsided and he was left feeling raw and exposed. It was almost as if his emotions had scrubbed through all his defenses leaving him completely vulnerable. Yet he strangely felt better than he had in months. Finally, N fully came to his senses and realized to his mortification that he had his face buried into his father's robes and was clinging to him tightly as he had as a child. He quickly pulled away from his father's embrace and said, "Why are you doing any of this, Father? Is any of it really worth it?" N hesitated a moment before finally swallowing his pride and looking up at Ghetsis and pleading, "Please Father, stop this. All of it. The attack on Unova, my… my torture," N's body shook a little and he felt fresh tears begin to fall as Ghetsis' outline again became a blurred figure, "Let the Pokemon go free. They didn't do anything. Please father, I'm begging you. Stop."

Ghetsis studied N for a few moments and sighed before saying, "It seems you've still learned nothing over this past year. You still believe that Team Plasma or I will change what we're doing simply because you ask or demand it? All of us have given up everything for this goal, and though our methods have unfortunately become darker and less than ideal, all of us realize," Ghetsis then gently placed his hand on N's shoulder which caused N to look up into his father's red eye, "that sacrifices are necessary to achieve that goal."

N shook his head angrily and growled, "You're ruining the Unova Region and countless people's lives, and for what? Power? Influence? None of that is worth the lives you took to get there."

"Despite the economic downturn the Unova Region will inevitably face, the sacrifice is well worth it since it'll make the transition between the League government and the Plasma one smoother. The Unova Region will recover with time."

"But why destroy it in the first place?" N demanded. "I blindly followed you because I believed we were ultimately helping the Pokemon. I thought we'd create a world where Pokemon and people could live equally under the law, but you only planned on using them like tools just like the League does."

Ghetsis chuckled darkly, "Is that really all you can still see N? The only problem with the League is that they use Pokemon as weapons? I'd have thought you learned by now that Pokemon ultimately don't have a problem with being either captured or subjected to battle. Pokemon rights and liberation was only a front to gather more members and garner more funding for our objective of overthrowing the League once and for all."

"What is it that you hate so much about the League if it isn't the Pokemon fights?" N snapped growing angrier by the minute. "It isn't like Team Plasma is doing this for freedom by overturning the League's oligarchy and military system and constructing a republic. Your goal is to give absolute power to your new government or in other words, you."

Ghetsis sighed and said impatiently, "The entire premise of the League is having a bunch of trainers prove their merit and worth for leadership via battle, but because many of them ascended the ranks from endless years of looking after themselves and beating their opponents mercilessly, many of them are susceptible to corruption. Just look at the state the Kanto Region is in. Overrun by Team Rocket since dozens of their Gym Leaders and even their Elite Four members have allegiances with the crime syndicate. Their economic system is in ruins due to most of their honest citizens being incapable of competing with the underground black market that infests the area. The Johto League will most likely follow suit in the coming years despite their Champion, Gold, waging war on all Team Rocket activities.

"When I was younger, the Unova League was much like the Kanto League is today. Team Rocket was just a budding and growing organization, but all the young people along with several of the League members joined when they saw how profitable it was to be a member. Team Plasma was formed to stop not only Rocket activities, but create a better system where borders could be regulated more heavily, citizens wouldn't have access to Pokemon so that they could form crime syndicates, and we'd have a leader that inspired both hope and fear to keep the Unovans loyal to the new government."

N shook his head and said scathingly, "Keep them loyal? More like keep them in line and in fear. Besides, a monarchy will only work for so long since one corrupt king or queen is enough to destroy an entire Region. Just look at what the two kings did to the Unova Region."

Ghetsis smiled slightly and said, "Yes, your kind do have a tendency to wipe out entire civilizations when they disagree with each other, but that problem only exists when there's more than one royal around to lead. With your abilities to summon the very gods, Team Plasma's new government will not merely be a monarchy rather it'll be a theocracy. It'll establish peace while recreating the old order of the Celestas, but this time, the Harmonias will be at the head of it."

"So that's how you justify torture and murder?" N hissed. "Your own soul for a flowery future that most likely will never happen?"

"I only kill and have others tortured when it serves a purpose," Ghetsis said softly. "Which brings me back to the reason I summoned you here. You see, the Shadow Triad have finally been able to locate your sister, Concordia."

N stiffened and whispered, "She doesn't have anything to do with this! She's just… worried about me. Leave her out of this."

Ghetsis sighed and said, "I'm afraid your dear sister has everything to do with this. She's already tried contacting you through your dreams, and if she's anything like her mother, the little wretch won't stop searching for you until she finds you. Especially since Concordia is nowhere near as reasonable as Anthea is."

"What do you mean by that?" N said as a cold, empty feeling began to well inside of him, the same as it had back on Thumb Pier near Castelia Sewers. "What did you do to Anthea?"

Ghetsis' smirk grew as his red eye glinted malevolently, and said, "Why, absolutely nothing. Anthea and I had a nice conversation about her unfortunate situation of being your effectual slave." Ghetsis then walked around his desk where he tapped something on his monitor and said, "In fact, you can watch the whole thing."

Ghetsis then brought up an image that filled the back monitors, and N saw Anthea standing there in her pajamas looking terrified. N silently listened to the conversation between his father and his sister and could only watch in shame as he saw Anthea's expression of grief and fatigue. Again, the same empty, hollow feeling filled his soul and seemed to be physically ripping his heart in half as he saw Anthea break down in tears when Ghetsis mentioned that N hadn't told her he loved her when they were reunited. N sank to his knees and placed a hand on his chest from the pain as the words his father used against him lashed painfully deep since every single word was true. It was painful to hear her disavow him, but he knew he deserved every word of it for abandoning them, for not even thinking about them, for losing faith in them.

When the recording ended, Ghetsis walked calmly over to where his son was kneeling on the floor with silent tears flooding down his cheeks and said lightly, "Fortunately for Anthea, she's no longer bound to you and no longer a threat to Team Plasma, which is why I allowed her to return home." Ghetsis fought back a smirk as he said, "Now, she has a boyfriend that watches over her dutifully every day. I'm sure she feels more peace than she ever has in years. Not that it should really matter to you N. I mean, you did leave them after being reunited."

"Shut up!" N shouted, "You're the one that told me they didn't love me! You're nothing but a liar, an egotistical maniac, and… and a… a monster!"

Ghetsis then knelt next to N, and wrapped his arm around him, and whispered, "Look up." N weakly raised his head and saw that he was staring into the monitor, but this time the display no longer showed Anthea, rather both him and Ghetsis together right now. N saw his emaciated figure huddled next to his father, his short tea green hair appearing lusterless and limp, heavy shadows beneath his dull blue eyes which were still reddened from crying, and a completely hopeless expression. Yet, he still looked like his father, especially now that he'd grown over the last year and lost a lot of his more boyish features. Ghetsis then said, "You claim that I'm a monster, but look at yourself and your own decisions. I may have lied and manipulated you, but in the end, you made your own choices. Aspertia City, Virbank City, Black City, Nacrene City, all the places you helped us invade are part of your responsibility as well. You found out the truth that your sisters still loved you when Concordia was finally able to make a psychic connection with you, but you still ignored her and didn't stop until Ivory came. When the League came to arrest you, you fled to escape the consequences of your actions and pursue your own goals. Even your return to the Unova Region and suicide attempt was a means of satiating your hero complex and adding to your arrogant belief that you and you alone can change things for the better." Ghetsis brought N closer to himself and whispered, "You see N, you and I are more alike than you could ever realize."

N shook his head, and hissed, "I'm nothing like you. I've made bad decisions, but that doesn't mean I'm anything like you."

"But look at all the things we share in common. When you ran away, instead of hiding away in the woods like Anthea and Concordia would have, you felt the drive to excel at something which is why you went to college. You'd never be satisfied with the bare minimum life has to offer; there's always a drive to prove yourself better than everyone else, to make a difference in the world around you. You call me a liar but let me ask you how many times you've lied to the people around you. How many times did you lie to Ivory when you were gathering the badges? How many times did you lie to evade capture? I'm sure you're thinking that the ends justify the means, and I'd agree, it's why I lie as well. With time, you'd start to realize just as I have that there are some people worth hurting if it'd fulfill a greater purpose and help the masses. Ultimately, you're just like me."

"No!" N shouted as he wrenched away from his father and made a desperate attempt to escape through the office door, but Ghetsis had already gotten up and swiftly walked over to stand in front of the door.

"You can't deny the evidence that's plainly in front of you," Ghetsis said soothingly, his red eye sparkling with delight as he saw the emotional turmoil he had just started in his son. N continued to shake his head and silently mouth the word 'no' which only made Ghetsis chuckle. "Of course," Ghetsis said in a silky voice, "You could always prove me wrong."

N saw that Ghetsis had brought out his old void cube which he quickly solved and put each side in its proper place so that it clicked and opened up. Ghetsis presented N with the worn picture of their family, and said, "I would have never been able to let your mother go." N watched as he saw true remorse shadow Ghetsis' expression for a brief moment before he continued, "When she left with you all those years ago, I was sad and frankly, infuriated. She too was key to my plans, but more than that, I loved her. I never lied to you when I said she was the only woman I ever loved," Ghetsis sighed as he looked at the picture before folding it back into the void cube, "but because I refused to let her go, I ended up losing her completely."

Ghetsis then brought out another picture, but this time it was a picture of N when he was about three being held by a blonde teenager and her little pink haired sister. Anthea and Concordia. "I would never break a bond with Concordia and let her go free. Despite knowing that my actions were causing her suffering and putting her in danger, despite knowing that she wanted to move on with her life, despite not caring about her unless it was convenient for me, I still wouldn't let her go."

N shook his head and grabbed the picture despite the sharp pain he felt from his wrist as he did so. He clung to the picture and said, "You're wrong. I would let Concordia go in an instant if it meant she could be safe and happy."

Ghetsis smirked dangerously and whispered in almost a hiss, "Then prove it." Ghetsis then took on a more condescending tone as he said, "I mean, do you_ really_ think you could live up to the dogma of liberating the enslaved Pokemon like you can with your indentured sister? Concordia really is nothing more than a Lillipup tied to her estranged brother. The poor girl is so bogged down by rituals and traditions that she can't see there's a possibility for a better life without you in it."

"I'm not a selfish monster like you!" N shouted. "I love Concordia, and I won't have her risk her life for me when she could be free. I don't want her to be bonded to me! I never asked her to do any of that, and I'd break that bond now for her sake." In response to this, N felt his body violently shake and felt the same physical pain he'd felt before.

Ghetsis noticed this and said, "If you really mean it, you'll have to sever your connection with her completely. The part of you that's giving her your energy. Only by doing this will you set Concordia free."

Without a moment's hesitation, N focused on the energy welling inside him and the stream of power leaving from himself to Concordia. As he did so, he felt a rush of memories with her telling him stories about the Celestas, her giving him a portion of her food during the long winter months in Discordian Wood, and her worrying over him when he'd been away in the woods for so long. He felt the rush of love she had for him even in the face of being held captive by Team Plasma. That love for him still burned, even after all the hurt she'd felt from him leaving so suddenly.

"N," Concordia projected through the connection they had together. N focused on that, and as he did, he could have sworn he could really see her in his mind's eye. She looked just as she did in his dream, but this time slightly more blurred. Concordia could apparently see him as well, because her face lit up and she gently embraced him which oddly felt real and warm despite it all being in his mind. "N! I'm so happy to see you, there's so much I need to tell you!"

N turned away from her and said, "I'm so sorry for everything I put you through… I'm sorry for all the pain that I've caused you."

"N that's alright. I'll always love you," Concordia said while gently moving a strand of his green hair which felt so real, he could have sworn it happened in real life. "It isn't your fault that this is happening to you. It's Ghetsis who's doing this all to you."

"No Concordia, it is my fault," N said still looking away from her. "If I hadn't left, none of this would have happened." N finally gathered the courage to look at his sister who was watching him anxiously, "At least this can make up for it."

"N what do you mean?" Concordia asked with fear creeping into her voice.

"This is for your own good," N whispered. "I no longer need you to serve me, you're free now Concordia… liberated, I guess. You'll never have to think about me again… because I… I don't deserve it."

Concordia looked mortified and she screamed, "No! N you don't understand-" but N had already cut off their psychic link and with it effectively severed the line of energy flowing to Concordia.

N felt more nauseated, colder, and emptier than he'd ever felt before. With his conscious mind now back in Ghetsis' office, he collapsed onto the floor where he felt the painful rush of energy now pulsating uncomfortably inside of him. The last thing he saw before his vision faded into darkness was Ghetsis smiling triumphantly over him.

* * *

_"Concordia! Concordia!"_ Grace cried as she watched her friend drop her fighting stick to the dirt floor of the arena before collapsing entirely. The Gardevoir ran over to the fallen figure and shook her shoulder several times while shouting her name. When she couldn't elicit any response from Concordia, Grace swiftly cradled her in her arms and teleported away from the training area and into the halls of a white castle with ornate tapestry and paintings decorating the walls. Grace carried Concordia down a hall to pearly white doors and barged inside without even bothering to knock.

Inside were several humans and Pokemon all gathered around a map of what appeared to be the Unova Region. They all looked up when she entered, but Grace's eyes were only focused on the middle-aged man with wavy blond hair and gray-blue eyes. He certainly stood out from the other Celestas since his outfit was the most luxurious of them all. _"Your Majesty,"_ Grace said as she was stepping towards him, _"Concordia… she… she…"_

Grace didn't have to continue as the king stepped towards them and immediately a golden aura seemed to encompass him as he laid his hand on Concordia's clammy forehead. He focused as much energy on her as she could before Concordia's eyes flew open and she coughed uncontrollably, and her body visibly shook. She looked up into the king's eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, it-" again she coughed violently into her hand, and when she withdrew it, she saw that it was stained red from blood. "My bond it-" again violent coughing.

_"Her condition is much worse than the other one," _a Slowking who had hurriedly walked over to her said. _"Even with your energy helping sustain her, she's still… dying…"_

"Her bond with the boy was much stronger than Anthea's," King Jonathon said softly as he took Concordia's limp figure into his own arms. "Mine must feel foreign to her… and it certainly isn't enough." He looked up at Grace who was anxiously watching Concordia's pale complexion become increasingly contorted and sweaty from pain. "Get Barrion in here right away."

A young woman with platinum blonde hair also stepped out from the group of Celestas and she too began pulsating golden energy. "Hold on Concordia," she whispered as she took hold of Concordia's hand.

Concordia shuddered again and coughed, "It wasn't his… fault… your Majesty, Lady Ava… he… he… he thought he was protecting me." Concordia looked up into the older man's blue eyes and whispered, "Please… I know he didn't mean to hurt me…" she had another coughing bought, "Please when you see him, tell him I love him, and that this wasn't his fault."

"You'll be able to tell him that in person," Lady Ava insisted. Grace teleported back into the room with a boy with spiky black hair who took one look at the situation before he too began to glow and also took a hold of her other hand.

"When… Anthea wakes up… tell her… I love her… and I'm sorry… I'm sorry… that I couldn't stop any of this," Concordia whispered tears streaming down her face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," the king said gently. "You served to the best of your ability, and for that we thank you."

Barrion's eyes widened when he heard this, and he shook his head and angrily said, "Stop talking like this. She isn't dead! Concordia stop acting like this is your last will and testament. You're going to make it."

Concordia smiled a little, and whispered, "Thank you all… thank you… for showing me… that I have a place where I belong… a family…"

The Celestas all bowed their heads slightly as they heard Concordia's last ragged breaths and the king felt her body go limp in his arms. "May Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie guide your spirit to the Hall of Origin to dwell eternally with Arceus," King Jonathon said quietly.

The only one that didn't bow his head was Barrion who was shaking his head angrily, "No! She can't just die like this," He pent up his energy, and in his rage, Barrion sent out a blast of energy which toppled over several chairs and even the Celestas while bursting the windows open.

"Barrion control yourself," the king said sharply. He took a deep breath and said, "Riley now knows exactly where this Team Plasma is, we'll finally be able to attack them on our grounds."

"It will not be that simple, your Majesty," A voice called from the corner. The entire royal counsel turned to the lone Xatu who was standing and staring fixatedly at a blank wall. "Now that the future where all the bonds have been broken, the possible futures now only include death. At best only thousands will die, worse millions, and worst either Team Plasma will begin a reign of tyranny using the power of the Celestas," the Xatu's head then cocked to the side, the first real sign of life, "Or all of Unova will be covered in ice."

**A/N: If you guys hate Ghetsis, please raise your hand through reviews! I almost didn't have Concordia dying even though I had planned it because I was like, I've got so much death already, but um… yeah. Poor N. He has PTSD and mental breakdowns from just his time at Team Plasma, imagine what he'll be like when he finds out about Concordia.**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

"Sir, we've spotted several trainers located off the starboard of the frigate approaching on water type Pokemon."

"Zoom in on the image of the trainers." The Plasma member immediately complied and enlarged the image on the overhead monitor. Thick swirling tendrils of fog encompassed the three Pokemon and riders distorting and concealing their figures to make it nearly impossible to identify them. The Plasma member began reconfiguring the software so the image could become more distinct and clearer.

"Should I send out a Plasma patrol to have them eliminated?"

"No, I recognize them. Well, most of them. I don't know who the man with the cape is, but I recognize the other four. Black Greystorm and Bianca Taylor are the ones riding the Samurott. Black has a high rank in the League since he's a strong trainer and his Pokemon are all around their level 80s. The other one on the Carracosta is Cheren Amari who's also a strong trainer working with the League. I don't recognize the man on the Lapras, but the girl's Ivory Greystorm, a Whisperer. They're too strong to attack head on with our normal patrol."

"What should we do then? Alex and Jenna have already left with Sage Giallo and the device to the Pokemon League while Peter and Jackson are with Sage Zinzolin in Opelucid City."

"Hmm… well they certainly came at an inconvenient time, but you're forgetting that we still have an advantage. Whisperers need to see Pokemon to stop them, and in this fog, that's nearly impossible. If we hit hard and fast, they shouldn't pose much of a threat especially since they'll be on water type Pokemon and we can come in with an aerial attack. In the meantime, continue the preparations for departure as Lord Ghetsis instructed."

"Yes sir," the Plasma member said as he returned to his desk, but before he sat down, he turned and asked, "Do you think you and your team will be able to handle them, admin Rosa?"

She smiled, and said, "Oh don't worry. They shouldn't be much of a challenge."

* * *

Swirling gray mist curled off the choppy waves and enveloped us like a thick blanket. The fog seemed to become thicker and more oppressive the closer we got to the frigate while the temperature seemed to be steadily dropping. It didn't help that the humid atmosphere made it feel like the cold had gotten under my skin and was flowing like ice through my veins. I shivered slightly and held Nightstar's warm body close to me in an attempt to stave off the freezing cold.

A sick, nauseous feeling twisted in my stomach as I stared at the tall black, hulking ship in front of us. I noticed that not only was it getting colder and foggier, it felt as if everything was gradually becoming quieter despite the waves lapping against the jagged rocks sticking out of the water. "Something's wrong," I whispered to Riley.

"I know," he said softly. I looked back and saw that he was already standing on top of Anahita's hard shell gripping his fighting stick and looking fixatedly at the dark frigate. "N's aura has suddenly shifted and the entire aura surrounding the frigate has been… how to put it… darker?... no, I think hostile is the better way to describe it."

"What should we do?" I asked anxiously while Nightstar jumped out of my jacket and onto Anahita's head in preparation for battle. "Are we going to fight all of neo Team Plasma?"

"I'd hoped Eichi would be back by now, but teleporting across the Region takes time," Riley said. "When Yellow and Eichi come back, we'll be able to show them one Distortion World of a fight. We may have to start the fight without them though… which might be difficult if they have their device with them."

Before either of us could say anything else, a sudden blast of white energy shot towards us from out of the murky fog and would've probably killed us if it weren't for a luminous blue shield that surrounded us. I glanced back and saw that Riley's hands were glowing the same shade of blue as the shield. A dark, blurred something shot through the fog and rounded on us before firing once more only to be blocked again by the same blue shield. "I guess that's their way of saying hello," Black grumbled as he was about to release one of his Pokemon.

"Wait! Do we know if we can use our Pokemon?" Cheren asked worriedly, "They might have their device activated!"

"If they did, Blade and Clove would have killed us by now instead of them sending out some random dudes to attack us," Black said as he threw out his Altaria, Serenity, while Cheren released his Unfezant, Jett. "Serenity use dragon pulse!"

The Altaria shot into the air and sent out a burst of energy that shot through the fog but didn't appear to hit anything. Unfortunately, the same shadowy creature again darted through the swirling mist and accurately blasted Altaria with a burst of magenta energy before trying to again hit us which Riley proceeded to block. "We're sitting Duckletts here," Cheren hollered. "We can't see where the attacks are coming from in this fog and we're in easy position on the ocean."

"In the Sinnoh Region we have to deal with fog like this all the time," Riley said as he unleashed a Staraptor from his master ball in a brilliant purple light. "We should also stick to the air since Cheren's right that we'll be easy targets from where we are." As he said this, another vicious lash of energy shot at us which Riley again blocked with his aura abilities, but he flinched slightly in exhaustion as the attack hit the shield.

Riley leapt onto the Staraptor's back and Luke quickly followed suit. "You should get on Cheren's Unfezant, Ivory." I nodded numbly and clambered onto Jett which was kind of hard since his feathers were slick and he was beating his wings over the water. Luckily Cheren had already managed to get on and he helped haul me up. I glanced over at Black and Bianca to see that they were already on Serenity's cloudlike body. Blade, Anahita and Clove were all returned to their pokeballs just as we were hit again, but this time it was from a low flying Swanna with its wings glowing bright silvery light as it lashed against Jett.

Jett had quickly spun around to face the hit head on so that Cheren and I could avoid getting attacked altogether, but the impact nearly sent both of us flying. If I hadn't been tightly clutching Cheren's waist and Cheren wrapping his arms around Jett's neck, we would've both fallen into the icy water and jagged rocks below.

"Serenity take us above the fog so that we can see what's happening," Black yelled which caused the Altaria to dart through the thick fog and out of sight. Only bursts of energy from the attacking Plasma members were there to indicate where they had flown off to.

The Staraptor also powerfully flew into the sky, but this time, the Staraptor sent huge gusts of wind which ripped through the air and across the ocean making the waves even more choppy. The thick fog which had surrounded the area dispersed revealing a dozen or so members of Team Plasma all swooping around us on flying type Pokemon. Cheren then asked, "Are you alright after that hit Jett?" When the Unfezant had nodded, he said, "Good, now take us up so that we can go battle with the others."

The Unfezant powerfully beat his wings and rocketed into the night sky where neo Team Plasma was already beginning to try and hit us with blasts of energy. Jett expertly dodged each of the attacks, dipping his wings and rolling to the left and right to avoid getting hit. It made me want to throw up whenever we spun around or banked sharply making us completely vertical and turning the world an odd image of half sea and half sky. It was worse when Jett would collide with one of neo Team Plasma's Pokemon in a surge of energy. Jett's body would get really hot and he'd suddenly be moving at high speed with streaks of light and power encompassing his body in a move that Cheren called brave bird. The collision itself was the worst since I was knocked forward into Cheren's back and both Jett and the enemy would cry in pain afterwards.

'Ivory, this is your forte,' I felt Nightstar tell me from where he was squished in my jacket. 'You're a Whisperer and you can see the Pokemon!' I nodded and focused my energy on a pair of neo Team Plasma Pokemon ahead of us. They were currently blasting rays of energy towards Black, Bianca, and Serenity. I calmly redirected the energy they were sending to the Altaria and concentrated on making them turn and hit their fellow Plasma Pokemon. The Pokemon hadn't been expecting that and so they all cried out before falling to the ocean; some regaining their strength and floating across the water while others crashed into the murky depths.

"Nice work," Cheren called back to me.

Nightstar's head popped up from my jacket, and I felt him say, 'My turn! Ivory, throw me over!'

"What!?" I hollered. I looked down and saw that there were several members of neo Team Plasma below coming towards us with their Pokemon.

'Trust me,' he said as he wriggled out of my jacket and jumped off of Jett and fell towards the neo Team Plasma members. When he got close to them, he sent out a burst of electricity causing dozens of the members and Pokemon to stiffen before they began falling to the ocean floor below. I thought Nightstar was going to fall as well, but Riley and the Staraptor swooped over to where he was. Riley held out his fighting rod which Nightstar landed on. Riley powerfully flung Nightstar upwards to where Jett was hovering, and I caught him.

"Arceus Nightstar! I thought you were going to die!" I said. "But I'll admit that was pretty awesome. How did you know Riley would catch you?"

'Ivory, have you not been seeing what Riley's been doing. This guy could probably take down all of neo Team Plasma if he wanted.' I looked over to see what Nightstar was talking about.

I had to rub my eyes several times to make sure what I was seeing was real. It reminded me more of a superhero movie than real life. Riley was currently crouching on the Staraptor's back and flying quickly to where a neo Team Plasma member was on a Flygon. When he got close, he jumped off the Staraptor, grabbed one of the Flygon's wings and used his momentum to twist the wing around to flip the Flygon upside down and send its trainer falling to the ocean. Riley then released the Flygon and twisted in the air so that he could properly land on the Staraptor who had flown around to catch him. He then shot bursts of bright blue beams of energy to any enemy he saw, and when he flew alongside one of the neo Team Plasma member, he smashed his fighting stick into their side to throw them off balance and fall into the water. Luke was also doing a great job of fighting, but he was relying on flying more on neo Team Plasma's Pokemon and sending blasts of aura spheres at them.

Black came up grinning from ear to ear, "Do you SEE Riley! He's demolishing them. Do you think if I learned some parkour and learned how to use aura that I'll be able to do that?"

"Um… if you mean by 'that' falling to your death the first time you jump off your Pokemon, then yes," Cheren said dryly. "Besides, you're not an Aura Guardian or a Celesta. I think that ships sailed for you."

"Archeops use rock slide," I heard a horribly familiar voice call out. I looked up and saw that several large boulders had been generated directly over our heads and were fast falling towards us.

Jett squawked in alarm before trying to move out of the way, but as we flew through the large boulders, Jett's right wing was smashed. We were sent careening through the air while Jett tried to flap his useless wing and regain balance. Cheren and I screamed as we began spinning making everything a blur of colors. "Jett get to the frigate! Get to the frigate!" Cheren roared as he held onto the hurt Unfezant for dear life.

The Unfezant sloppily dipped toward the top of the frigate getting lower and lower. "We're not going to make it!" I screamed. There was a sudden push from beneath us and I saw that Serenity had floated below us and was trying to push us up to keep us afloat. I looked back and saw the Archeops and two familiar strands of brown hair flying through the wind like a banner coming straight for us. Before I could focus on the Archeops, it sent out a blast of hot energy which hit us and again made the Pokemon struggle to fly.

We had gotten close enough to the frigate that we crashed into the top ridge of the ship leading onto the top deck. Cheren and I were sent flying and rolling across the metal ground while Bianca, Black and Serenity had managed to land on top of the deck. Jett was flailing with his one broken wing on the inside while the other one beat furiously down to gain height and get himself fully on the frigate. Cheren pulled out his pokeball to return Jett, but another blast of energy hit the Unfezant and he fell completely off the side of the frigate.

"Jett!" Cheren screamed and we both ran over to the railing to where Jett had fallen only to see white foam tainted red surrounded by countless jagged rocks. "No," Cheren aimed his pokeball down and sobbed, "Return. Arceus damnit Jett I said return!" But nothing happened aside from the ding from Cheren's pokeball announcing it was now free to be used on other Pokemon.

"Watch out!" Bianca yelled as Black tackled both of us to the ground. Another hot blast of energy shot across the deck and in the exact spot where we had been.

"My, my you kids really don't know when to give up do you?" I heard a sweet bubbly voice say from above us. I looked up and saw Rosa drop down from the Archeops. She still had her hair done up in buns with two long strands of hair falling down, but this time she was wearing the standard Plasma uniform without the hat or the half mask. "And to think I thought I taught you two a lesson about what happens when you try to stop Team Plasma."

Bianca had started to cry at this point, "Rosa! How could you work for people like Team Plasma!? I thought we were friends!"

Rosa rolled her eyes, "Oh Arceus Bianca grow up. It looks like you're still a nineteen-year-old with the maturity of twelve-year-old. I'm surprised you're even here since half the time you're blubbering about how scared you are."

"Shut up!" I yelled and stood defensively in front of Bianca while Nightstar growled fiercely at Rosa.

"Why if it isn't my friend Ivory," Rosa jeered. She then took on a young, infantile voice and turned all her 'r's into 'w's. "Are you still wooking fow youw wittle Enny-Wenny?" She snickered when she saw me glower at her and clench my fists before she continued in a normal voice, "Don't worry, I'll tell him you were here and that I helped scrub your blood off the deck of the frigate."

Nightstar roared at this point and charged her while Black sent out his Samurott. I tried to focus on having her Archeops attack her, but it had that same dead quality about it that Ghetsis' Pokemon had. Rosa released the rest of her Pokemon which included a Sawk, a Krookodile, a Sigilyph, a Bisharp, and a Greninja of all Pokemon. All of them had the same eerie lifeless quality and all looked like they were ready to kill us.

Black sent out the rest of the Pokemon as did Cheren and Bianca. "Four against one," Black sneered, "I'd say you're screwed, Herdier."

"We'll see about that," Rosa hissed, and with that her Pokemon raced out to fight us while Nightstar and the other Pokemon charged at hers.

* * *

The first thing N noticed when his mind slowly surfaced to consciousness was the aching, nearly agonizing pain he felt ripping through his chest. He felt sickened by the newfound energy and power surging through his veins, and with that power came a horrible sense of guilt. The guilt was so intense that his stomach churned uneasily as he imagined sticky blood coating his arms and his hands as would be found on a murderer. The second thing he noticed was that he was lying on something cold and hard.

N groggily opened his eyes and blearily looked up only to see the bright fluorescent lights of Dr. Colress' lab. He looked around to find that the room was now filled with machinery and that he had wires running all along his arms and head that were connected to a machine. He tried to move, but his wrists and ankles were securely fastened to the operating table he was lying on.

Dr. Colress was facing away from him and carefully attaching long wires to what appeared to be something lying on an operating table parallel to his. N struggled to crane his neck to get a better look at the object and saw that it appeared to be some sort of cane with a long, obsidian staff and a silver circle on top of it. Silver rods of metal crisscrossed the center of it forming an x and the metal prongs sticking out were what Dr. Colress was connecting the wires to. In the center of the circle was the electric blue Plasma insignia. N saw that the wires the cane was attached to were connected to the same machine he was.

"What's happening," N asked in confusion. "What are you doing to me?"

Dr. Colress merely hummed happily as he turned to inspect the wires along N's body particularly around his brain and frontal lobe. Finally, the scientist said, "What am I doing you ask. My dear Specimen 14, today's finally the day when all those experiments we did together will finally pay off. I suppose Lord Ghetsis would say that this is when Team Plasma will make its move against the Unova League, but that doesn't seem as important to me."

"What are you going to do," N asked worriedly as Dr. Colress began fiddling with the machinery and setting the correct frequencies.

Colress smiled his yellow eyes burning brightly with excitement behind his glasses as he said, "This is a procedure. I think of this as my magnum opus or my greatest accomplishment. You see Specimen 14; you are a powerhouse with such untapped energy that you yourself have barely even realized. Your ability to control even the Legendaries and draw out their power is astonishing. Lord Ghetsis wants that power for himself and not have to rely on catering to an undisciplined youth to get it. What I'm doing is essentially diverting your power to this cane that you see next to you. Similar to how Concordia and Anthea were able to draw in your power. However, I've perfected the system so that it draws out all your power, and it's genetically locked to Ghetsis' signature so only he will ever be able to use it."

"So, you're going to drain me of my powers and put it in an inanimate object for… for… Oh Arceus," N whispered as the horror and realization at what he'd just done began to sink in. "You needed me to break my bond to do this, didn't you?"

"Yes, I was worried Lord Ghetsis wouldn't be able to convince you to do something like that, but I should have learned by now never to underestimate the man's power of manipulation."

"Can't you see that what you're doing is wrong," N said desperately as he struggled against his restraints and tried to pull against the wires, but this only got him a strong electric shock form Colress.

"Stop moving," Colress instructed sternly. He then continued in a softer, lighter tone, "I suppose one could see what I'm doing as immoral, but morals are only based on the social standards of the governing culture and government. Historically, it was considered moral to do things that seem odd to us now, like stoning people committing adultery, marrying a cousin, or even killing an enemy. Morals are whatever we decide we want them to be. My morals and principles all revolve around science. I'll do whatever it takes to expand my knowledge even if it means working for a terrorist organization like Team Plasma. As long as I can do my research, I don't complain."

"Please, you have to stop. If you give my power to him, he'll-"

"Take over the Unova Region through sheer force," Colress said with a smile. "Obviously." He finished fiddling with the machinery controls as he said, "Done. Now Specimen 14, I should probably warn you in advance. I'm forcibly changing the flow of your energy so that you become nothing more than a battery to charge Lord Ghetsis' cane. Unfortunately for you, that means you're about to be in more pain than you've ever experienced before."

"Wait, wha-" N started before Colress flipped on the switch for his procedure. N screamed in pain as he felt as if his very molecules were being shredded and like a Weavile was slowly ripping his chest open.

* * *

I wish I could describe to you what happened, but I don't think any words could really give it justice. One minute we were all fighting against Rosa, and winning I might add since we were fifteen against six, when suddenly I felt as if the world had gone straight to the Distortion World. I don't know how else to put this, but suddenly all the Pokemon: Blade, Moon, Clove, the others and even Nightstar dropped to the ground and began writhing in agony. I could practically physically hear Nightstar screaming, 'Make it stop! Make it stop!'

I felt the pain as well rippling through me like waves of fire and agony, but it was nowhere as extreme as what the Pokemon were going through right now. I glanced around the frigate and saw dozens of Wingull and Pelipper screeching in such pain that they began dropping from the sky and falling on the deck and around the sides of the frigate. The ones that had fallen to the deck began flopping their wings uselessly. I could even hear the anguished cries from the water type Pokemon in the ocean below.

Unfortunately, whatever the Distortion World was happening didn't seem to effect Rosa's soulless Pokemon. "Kill them!" She screamed which sent her Pokemon throwing a frenzy of attacks directly at us with no Pokemon in the way to stop them since they were all on the floor moaning in pain. Together we ran behind the mast as blasts of hot energy shot past us as well as rock debris. The mast didn't help us for long as the Greninja jumped in front of us and readied a water shuriken to kill us.

As the Greninja lifted its water shuriken to swing at us, a Staraptor came and smashed into it sending it flying across the deck of the frigate. "Riley!" We all yelled simultaneously as the young man dropped down in front of us.

He looked like he was in physical pain, but he managed to say, "Return your Pokemon and go find N. I don't know what they're doing to him, but it isn't natural, and it most certainly is evil since it's causing all the Pokemon so much pain."

Black, Cheren and Bianca returned their Pokemon and Luke had given me Nightstar, and Riley turned and generated a large amount of blue energy which he sent at a black hatch which blasted it open. Riley turned to start fighting the heartless Pokemon, and we quickly climbed the ladder leading into the ship. As I was about to climb in, several things happened all at once. The first being that the engines of the ship started, and I felt almost as if the ship were starting to rise from the ocean. I realized I wasn't wrong as I saw the dark mountain line begin to diminish. The second was that a Sawk had come running up to me with his fist glowing and pulsating with energy to kill me. When the Sawk thrust his fist to hit me, a familiar blue shield surrounded me. I turned around to go down the ladder and saw Riley perched on the railing of the frigate focused on me with his hands glowing a bright blue. It was then that I noticed Rosa sneaking along the side where he was. I didn't even realize that I was screaming "No!" as I watched her viciously lunge at Riley and push him over the side to the water below.

The blue shield disintegrated, but I had already been pulled down the hatch by Black to run for safety in a ship I was certain would lead to our imminent demise.

**A/N: This was such a hard chapter to write! Action scenes are so hard! I'll admit that I skip over most of them so actually trying to describe a battle scene was… ugh… it was hard. It's why it took me so long to update.**

**Finally the reveal of what Team Plasma was doing buying all those weird supplies. Did anyone else think it was weird that Ghetsis' cane emitted a signal that stopped you from catching Pokemon and CONTROLLED Kyurem in the game! In the anime his cane also glows when he's performing the awakening ritual… thus you see the root of my idea for this fanfiction (at least the main plot for its sequel).**

**Colress and Rosa suck. Rosa's usually awesome, but I don't know why so many people like Colress. I always thought he was a sociopath in the games. Colress has no loyalties to anyone other than science.**

**Also, the Greninja was Kai :(... When N said he was gone, he meant he no longer had a soul...**

**SnowCatt: Thanks for the continued support! I appreciate all your reviews! Ghetsis is literally the worst… and so is Team Plasma in general.**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

_Humans have always been such an oddity. Fragile and weak. That was at least how Kyurem perceived them in the beginning when he had first seen the strange creatures hobbling around on their two feet. Pathetic really. A single flick of his tail or a single breath from him was enough to end the creature's life in a matter of seconds. Yet the Father seemed to enjoy the miserable beasts existence which was the only reason Kyurem hadn't extinguished their lives when he had first seen them._

_ The creatures were nothing like the other monsters that roamed the land and tended to their own territories and lives. The humans were just as unintelligent as the monsters, but they were curious beings by nature and seemed to have the need to crawl across every terrain and peek their heads in whatever cranny or nook they found. Yet, they were incapable of generating fire or water or anything aside from a cacophony of sound that permanently emanated from their mouths._

_Kyurem remembered meeting one for the first time on the top of his throne in Mt. Reversal. The beast had been so startled when it had first laid eyes on him that it had cowered behind a cove of rocks before fleeing the vicinity all together. Kyurem had thought nothing of it until an entire flock of them came with sharpened sticks which they then proceeded to throw at Kyurem. The sticks were easily deflected by Kyurem's impenetrable scales and in a single breath of ice he had eliminated the nuisances. Truly pathetic creatures. Yet they wouldn't stop coming. The next herd of creatures had come with other monsters roving the land who had attacked with flickering flames, trickles of water, and floating leaves before Kyurem again eliminated the pests with a single breath of lightning._

_The next time he'd seen a human, it had been a female who had approached without a sharpened stick. She only had a colorful robe on instead of the typical loin cloth the other humans had worn. He remembered the beast getting onto her knees and bowing to him while chanting a series of rhymes put to music. Kyurem had found the display to be rather childish, but still amusing. He saw no reason to end this particular beast's existence since it wasn't too irritating, and the human began to come repeatedly afterwards. Each time, it would bow repeatedly to Kyurem before presenting a woven basket filled to the brim with various fruits despite Kyurem having no need of sustenance._

_Soon a flock of humans began to gather to Kyurem often where the human female, one that frequently changed since the fragile humans frequently died, would chant in their sloppy vocals proceeded by the flock chanting the same words. Kyurem quickly learned to distinguish the sounds of the human's crude language into a serious of objects, actions and positions. The humans would link these words together to form sentences, and from these symbols construed together, a meaning could be found. Crude, inefficient, subject to error and next to worthless compared the clear, distinct language the monsters used, but the humans seemed to rely on this method of communication. As the humans came more often with woven baskets of fruits and songs, it became almost enjoyable to hear how the humans had decided to form the rhyme and meter of each of their chants. Over the years, Kyurem found that he almost enjoyed the human's arrival._

_At times during his flight across his dominion, he spotted a few of the humans working out in the fields of wavering corn who upon seeing him, fell to their knees and began worshipping him. It was amusing to come near their residence to watch them bring out instruments which they shook and sang, loudly chanting his name._

_He remembered when a foreign group of humans had come with a sickeningly pale complexion compared to the lovely coppery ones of his own humans. They came with sharpened pieces of metal and monsters that fought at their side. Kyurem remembered seeing the smoke rising off the small residences of the humans and feeling a flicker of sadness that he would no longer hear the creatures dance or sing in their childish, sloppy movements. To preserve the humans he had grown accustomed to, Kyurem went to the genetic variant of human invaders where they slapped his skin with metal and had their monsters attack him. It had felt like a child flicking their finger against his skin. In one breath of fire, Kyurem had gotten rid of most of the invaders. He had made quick work of getting rid of the human vermin in the other areas of his domain until only his coppery ones remained._

_The humans had come up to him afterwards and bathed him in their tears as they sang and danced all the while chanting praises to his name. Kyurem found it endearing to see their shuffled feet and flailing arms moving about him while a human attempted to make the cacophony of noise seem beautiful._

_It all changed when they came; coming in on their large sea crafts of soft white sails and wooden exteriors. Human would not be the proper word to describe them for they had many abilities just as the monsters did. Yet their appearance resembled humans despite all having skin and hair variations ranging from dark as night to the pale paste he had seen from before. Kyurem quickly learned that these new creatures were called "Celestas" and that they had journeyed from the Kalos Region and desired to become the new rulers of his human subjects._

_He remembered meeting their leader for the first time, a female… no a Queen… with ebony hair as black as Darkrai, eyes the color of the ocean during a hurricane and a voice that surpassed even that of Meloetta's. It was the first creature in human form that could speak with him without the incessant need for guttural noises. Kyurem remembered her power radiating as powerful as any of his brothers and sisters in their own domains. He chose to work alongside her to help her build a kingdom as long as his own pets would continue their tradition of singing and dancing._

_Large cities were soon created, castles of alabaster raised, fields cultivated, monsters domesticated and systems of laws formed. The humans lost their tradition of dancing and instead replaced it with the lighting of incense and offering fruit to him in stone buildings rather than woven baskets. It had all been wonderful until two kings were born. That had been the beginning of the end._

_Their angry words had lashed across him as they began to glow and emanate with the essence of power. Both using it simultaneously on Kyurem to convince him to side with one or the other. Their convictions had been too powerful for him to decide on one, and so his very spirit split in half: one becoming his sisterly half while the other his brother leaving Kyurem a shell of his former self. He remembered lying on the marble floor of the ornate castle watching his sister's glorious white form side with one while his blackened brother joined the opposite. They ignored Kyurem's husk and proceeded to battle._

_He had been rejected from the court afterwards; deemed nothing more than an empty vessel of Reshiram and Zekrom. Doomed to live in isolation in the caves without the singing and dancing he'd once enjoyed. Without the love he hadn't realized he'd grown accustomed to throughout the millennia. Now only a monster doomed to live within the confines of a cave to forever be avoided by the humans._

Kyurem sighed and let out a breath of icy wind which caused ice to spiderweb out in an intricate crystalline pattern along the glass of his confine. Despite being stuck in a cramped cage, Kyurem did not feel much had changed other than human's prowess over technology. He was still a pariah rejected by humanity destined to be hidden from others whether it be in a cave or in the bowels of this vessel.

His imprisonment was not all that strange to him, but the presence of one of the Ancient Ones was more than a little disconcerting. They who had always been adorned with decadent gold and linen of the finest material had never been subjected to what this little one was going through. Kyurem glanced over to where the human of science stood blabbering a few noises which he didn't bother listening to. Instead, his yellow eyes were drawn to the figures standing next to him. He recognized the Ancient One, N as he called himself, leaning heavily against the creature in black with a mane of white hair.

The one next to the Ancient One had long green hair nearly the same shade as N's, but he appeared to be older with a red eye and eyepatch. Kyurem finally recognized the green-haired human as the one who had often come with the other Ancient One, the one with long cascading blonde hair and radiant blue eyes. His eyes shifted from the human to the younger Ancient One, noting the genetic similarities between the two as well as the princess. He snorted in surprise not having expected the princess to have chosen to mate with a human. Their kind had never done that when they lived as rulers of Unova.

Kyurem decided to listen in on the conversation between the humans, "-all readings suggest that the procedure was a complete success. N's own energy waves indicate a strong directional shift to your own cane, Lord Ghetsis. The only thing to do now is to test whether it's functioning properly."

The atmosphere seemed to thicken as the rich energy of the Ancient One's saturated the environment causing the human's cane to glow an icy blue while the little one, N, cried out in pain and collapsed to his knees beside the human and the dark creature. 'Kyurem,' Kyurem heard an older voice say in his mind through the same channels the Ancient Ones used.

Kyurem balked slightly, _"Human. You wield the Ancient One's power… I have never seen nor heard such a thing before."_

"Kyurem please don't listen to anything he says," N said desperately as he crawled to the glass wall of Kyurem's confinement and pressed his hands against it. The little one looked at him with wide, blue eyes and continued plaintively, "Please. Don't do anything he tells you! He's-"

"Silence," the creature in black snapped before forcefully dragging the boy away from Kyurem's confinement and securely holding him to prevent further movement.

'Kyurem,' Ghetsis continued speaking through the energy of their connection. 'I have a proposition to make for you.'

"_You expect me to take kindly any request given by you despite you having kept me confined for over a decade,"_ Kyurem said, his mind dripping with venom and animosity. _"You may have the energy of the Ancient One, but that does not mean I will follow you."_

The human smirked, his red eye narrowing slightly, 'I wouldn't jump to conclusions until you've heard all that I have to offer.' The man gripped his hold on the cane tighter causing the outpouring of energy to glow brighter and the boy to gasp slightly as more of his power was taken. In Kyurem's mind's eye a vision of the man's ambition came to him. Golden spirals mirroring what the Ancient One's once had in their kingdom here in Unova came to mind, the current state of human affairs changed from how it was to the older time with the man at the head or it. Kyurem glanced over at the boy and envisioned a new race of Ancient Ones once more ruling Reshiram and Zekrom's domain. Lastly, and most emphasized by the human, was the vision of himself with his siblings being fused together as one. Reunited after three millennia of separation. With their power, the human's ambition and the child's power, Kyurem saw the human government buildings falling making way for Team Plasma.

"_You have great ambition,"_ Kyurem said softly._ "Yet, this desire does not match my own. I have no wish for the lives of the humans to be drastically altered simply from your want of power."_

'I see,' the human said with a slight smugness creeping into his mind, 'Then I'll assume you're willing to let the mantle as leader of the combined trio fall to another. Perhaps Reshiram will be more cooperative than you.'

Kyurem stared at the man for a moment as he continued, 'The gods may think that they are nothing like humans, but that isn't true. The gods listen to what the Celesta royalty says because they're acting in their own self-interest just like any common human would. If the king or queen gave their power to one god, that would make them greater and superior to the others. That's what happened to Reshiram and Zekrom. They were favored and loved by the Celestas which was why they had a tower built to honor them and were waited on hand in foot. You on the other hand, well… if the legends are true, you were cast out. While they increased their power and dominion, you became weaker and weaker. Do you really want that to happen again? I'm offering you a chance to be greater and stronger than Reshiram and Zekrom. I'm offering you a chance to return to your former glory.'

Kyurem said nothing as he studied the man. He looked over at the boy staring at him imploringly, begging him not to side with the human. Kyurem had felt the child's suffering and even felt a sort of kinship with the boy as fellow captives of Team Plasma. However, the boy would be dead in a few short years just like they all would be. What about after that? If the human intended to fuse them together, it was in his best interest to be the one the man favored. That would ensure his place as the head of their original form. Besides, if he stubbornly refused, undoubtedly one of his siblings would fill that role leaving him to once more be trodden over by Zekrom and Reshiram's dominant personalities.

Not to mention if the man intended for the boy to propagate the line of Ancient Ones, then he would most certainly want to be Ghetsis' favored one. He would return as a dominant power to live in the light rather than living in the dark murky depths of a dripping cave. There really was no choice in the matter. _"I find your proposition acceptable, Ghetsis Harmonia."_

* * *

"Open the cage," Ghetsis instructed calmly. "Kyurem has decided to side with us."

"NO!" N screamed as he struggled against Osamu's tight grip. Dr. Colress calmly pressed his hand against the glass and entered several security codes which caused the glass chamber to slowly rise sending out a spray of arctic mist from the bottom.

Kyurem emerged from the mist, his yellow eyes flashing powerfully as he stretched slightly and walked over to where Ghetsis stood. N finally tore away from Osamu's hold and ran straight to Kyurem and stood between the god and his father. "You can't do this, Kyurem. You have to know what my father will do when he takes control of Unova. He'll rule as a tyrant! You can't let him win! Please!" However, the god simply used his head to gently push N out of the way so that he could walk over to Ghetsis. "No! Kyurem!" N said desperately, but the Legendary remained next to Ghetsis.

As the gravity of the situation fully hit him, N felt his strength leave as he once again sank to his knees. "No…" N whispered again. 'Oh Arceus what have I done… I gave them… everything they could have possibly wanted.' N looked down at the cold metallic floor. He truly had nothing now. Not his sisters, not even the hope of one day being free and no way of stopping his father or Team Plasma. Unova would fall because of him.

He felt a hand gently raise his chin so that he was looking up into his father's cold, eye. He smirked maliciously, "Now there's the look I'm looking for. The look of a person who's lost all hope."

"Father, please. Don't do this," N whispered in a last-ditch effort to stop Team Plasma's inevitable invasion.

Ghetsis merely chuckled as he straightened and looked over at Osamu, "Have Zinzolin start the attack on Opelucid City. When he's drawn Drayden out, have him inform us so that Kyurem can attack it. While the League's distracted, go assist Alex and Jenna to break into the Pokemon League to retrieve the Light and Dark Stones."

"No," N cried, but this was only met with Ghetsis slamming his cane to the metallic floor causing a sharp ringing that reverberated through the lab.

"Enough," Ghetsis said calmly. "You've already decided Unova's fate the moment you abandoned Team Plasma. If you had remained king, Unova might still be beautiful. However, you've forced me to move to extreme measures that may very well wipe out several cities and thousands of citizens." Ghetsis again turned to Osamu, "Take N back to his cell and make sure he's well-rested for the attack."

N didn't even resist as Osamu roughly grabbed N to his feet and teleported him back to his white, sterile cell. He didn't even try to not breath in the sweet fumes of sleeping powder that Osamu had pressed against his face. Instead, he tried to find solace in the darkness and loss of consciousness. After all, anything would be better than this reality.

* * *

"Iris… this has got to be the most disturbing data I've ever gone through," Professor Juniper said in disgust as she scrolled through all the data saved on the hard drives. Iris stopped pacing back and forth in the P2 laboratories which had been emptied of all scientists after they'd all been arrested and taken into custody to be personally escorted by the Elite Four back to the Pokemon League's special holding cells. The only other two people in the room aside from Iris and Professor Juniper were the Pokemon Masters and Gorm who was sullenly glowering at the floor of the lab.

"What do you mean Professor," Iris said as she shot a glare at Gorm before walking over to Professor Juniper who was studying an array of pie graphs and numbers that Iris couldn't understand.

Professor Juniper turned to Iris and said, "I mean, this has to be the place where Ghetsis had his and the Shadow Triad's Pokemon lobotomized. This is a biology lab that specifically studies Pokemon and… people. Colress' device definitely wasn't assembled here. All the equipment here go into regulating life functions and inducing homeostasis. From what I can see, it appears that they were currently working on regenerating a lifeless Pokemon. A little like what's done in Nacrene labs, but this time, they were genetically altering it so that it would be even more weaponized than it already is. That's not even the worst of it though…" Professor Juniper then pulled up a few more experiments and pictures that made Iris feel sick and disgusting just from looking at it.

Iris turned from the computer and marched straight up to Gorm, "What in Arceus' name is wrong with you people!" Gorm averted his eyes to avoid eye contact, but he stubbornly remained silent. "To the Distortion World with this," Iris turned to Ruby and said, "Dose him with a high level of Dream Mist so that he's giggling like a blabbering idiot. I want you to record everything this bastard says as he spills all of Ghetsis' secrets. When it's done, upload it for all the world to see. Ghetsis likes to rub things in people's faces, why don't we do the same for him?"

Ruby smirked, "With pleasure." He then reached inside his bag and pulled out a jar of Dream Mist which he handed over to Iris.

"Wait," Gorm cried. "You can't do this. The level of-"

"Dream Mist will be too high since you've probably disciplined your mind so that you won't be affected by it?" Iris asked innocently. "I guess that means you'll go insane from this. Oh well, they say insanity's a lot more fun than being sane."

Gorm backed away nervously as Iris grabbed a handful of Dream Mist. "This isn't remotely legal. You wouldn't want to tarnish your reputation as Champion by doing this."

Iris hissed, "You're absolutely right. This isn't legal to do on any Unovan citizen, but none of neo Team Plasma are Unovans anymore, are they. You're terrorists who have the intent of destroying the land and people that I've sworn to protect. Don't think for a moment I'll hesitate to use Dream Mist against you to protect Unova. Unless you talk you can say goodbye to this world and say hello to La La Land. I want to know everything Ghetsis is up to and what the Distortion World is up with those experiments."

Gorm didn't say anything until Iris raised her fist full of Dream Mist and Gorm snapped, "Fine," Gorm breathed in deeply as he said, "I'm assuming you saw the cloning experiments."

"You tried and clone Melody and N Harmonia," Iris hissed. "Along with them you tried to clone other humans and Whisperers as well."

Gorm sighed and said, "You have to understand that none of the… experiments… we conducted here were ever meant to have happened. Team Plasma should have overthrown the League years and years ago with Melody leading the charge, but…" Gorm sighed once more before continuing slowly, "it all changed when Melody left Team Plasma and died. After her death and N being taken by the sisters to Discordian Wood, Ghetsis became… unreasonable... and terrifying to say the least. I don't believe those words can properly describe what happened after that event. Melody and N were central to Team Plasma's conquest of Unova. We couldn't possibly succeed without them, but I also believe that Ghetsis loved them, particularly Melody, in his own way. When she died, something inside him… snapped."

"Oh yeah. For sure he loved them," Iris said sarcastically. "After all, it was his love that probably drove Melody to run away with their son and then commit suicide when she couldn't escape. No wonder he had you bastards try to make clones of them after that. Because he _loved _them so much that he couldn't live without their power… oh sorry, I meant without _them_."

Gorm flinched when he heard Iris say this. He then defiantly glared at Iris and spat, "Oh please, fools like yourself assume conclusions before they have all the data. Melody was Team Plasma's Queen for nearly seven years. We always said her unofficial coronation was when Ghetsis led our first raid against Team Rocket with Melody at his side. She helped establish our reputation as being the ones that kept the streets clean of Rocket filth. She agreed to summon Zekrom. Ghetsis didn't force Melody to marry him or have a child with him. She did that all willingly."

"Yeah, I'm still not getting past the suicide part," Iris said callously. "Or the fact that, oh you know, you tried to clone her."

Gorm sighed, "Ghetsis had gone too far, and Lady Melody had found out."

"Oh, you mean she found one of the thousands of skeletons in Ghetsis' closet and it came back to bite him. Surprise, surprise. Which skeleton was it?"

"He was going to kill her Guardian Rhea," Gorm said sadly. "Ever since that woman showed up, she had tried everything in her power to convince Melody to go back… to the Sinnoh Region. Rhea would constantly tail Ghetsis and pry into Team Plasma's affairs. She would insist that Ghetsis was a monster and that Melody didn't belong in Unova. I'm sure you think she's a saint for trying to do that, but that woman kept trying to put a wedge between Melody and Ghetsis. She stirred up contention and made both their lives miserable just to convince Melody to go back with her. Ghetsis was planning an… accident for Rhea, and when Melody found out, she left the mansion without notice. She took N, Rhea, Concordia, and Anthea with her where they then escaped to Nuvema Town to buy some direct tickets to the Sinnoh Region." Gorm hesitated as he said, "He found her there. The children ran for Discordian Wood, and Ghetsis confronted Melody."

"If she's anything like N, she should've been able to kill him," Iris said in a low voice. "She should have been able to wipe out all of the Plasma members."

"You're right," Gorm said sadly. "She had enough power to wipe out all of Nuvema Town, but I don't believe she could bring herself to do it. I believe she still loved him even after… everything he'd done and was planning on doing." Iris was surprised when she heard genuine regret as Gorm said, "It was… Melody's greatest downfall. She often let her emotions overcome her reason… something that never happened to Ghetsis. Ghetsis has an uncanny way of understanding people and using both their strengths and weaknesses against them which is exactly what he did with Melody. He knew that she would try to separate herself from N so that he couldn't get them together. It's why he sent so many of our best members to cut the children off from escaping. They were supposed to convince N to go with them which should have been easy since all the members personally served in the mansion directly over N. Once they'd managed to leave with N, Ghetsis was going to… convince… Melody to return so that she could see her son again."

"He was going to use N against his own mother," Iris roared. "Are you seriously not hearing how messed up this all is!?" Gorm shifted uncomfortably as he again averted his eyes. Iris snorted, "Of course you know. You've just forgotten how to live like a moral human being. My mistake for thinking otherwise. Now, what happened afterwards."

"The children had bonded with N," Gorm said quietly. "They were able to use N's powers so that they could escape into Discordian Wood. Ghetsis was furious, but he thought he still had Melody… right up until she ordered her Pokemon to kill her. She died in Ghetsis' arms. After that, he… he… well I'm not sure if he just went insane or lost every shred of humanity left inside him. His plan hinged on her and N's powers. Without them, we couldn't win. That's when he started experimenting with clones. We actually had several successes, but nothing with Melody or N. We couldn't even begin the process of cloning them since they're a reservoir of some unidentifiable power. Their very being couldn't even be put together without that power and so we couldn't even recreate a single cell from them."

Gorm then added, "However, we did have success… three in particular."

Iris' eyes widened, "Oh Arceus. You're talking about the Shadow Triad."

Gorm nodded slowly as he said, "We based them off of Rhea's DNA actually. We created them to be fundamentally linked to Ghetsis just as Rhea was to Melody… I guess you could say they're artificially bonded to Ghetsis. They don't really feel any emotion except around Ghetsis. He's the only one they care about, and they are absolutely devoted to him. To supplement Rhea's DNA, we had to infuse some sort of power since Rhea naturally drew from Melody's power. We included Pokemon DNA. Particularly Claydoll, Dusknoir, and Zoroark. It's why they can teleport, hide in the shadows, and almost have a sixth sense when it comes to battle. They're Team Plasma's most brilliant creations."

"We've noticed," Iris said bitterly. "I'm surprised you didn't create an entire army of them."

Gorm shook his head, "It's best not to have too many things like them. They may act somewhat humanely around people that Ghetsis care about. They'd never hurt the Sages or the admins, and they'll protect Plasma's assets like N, but other than that… they're…" Gorm shuddered a little. "They're horrible. They're completely intolerant of failure, and when they were first created, they had a tendency to kill anyone they thought would interfere with Team Plasma. They also loved watching anyone they deemed an enemy of Team Plasma suffer. Believe it or not, Ghetsis is the one that had to make sure they toned it down since he isn't one to kill needlessly. Osamu's the most humane and intelligent of the three which is why he was put in charge."

"Arceus you're all screwed in the head," Ruby muttered under his breath.

"What are the rest of Team Plasma's plans," Iris asked softly. "And don't give me some Tauros crap that they're going to use N's powers to take over Unova. I already know that."

Gorm said nothing, "I don't know."

"Liar," Iris snarled as she again raised her fist full of Dream Mist.

Gorm shut his eyes as he said, "Go ahead. If Ghetsis finds out that I told you anything, he'll kill me. At least he won't be as upset that I went insane while giving you away our secrets. He'll probably have me humanely killed to put me out of my misery."

"Ghetsis isn't all powerful," Iris said softly. "He wouldn't know."

Gorm glowered at Iris, "Tell that to Rood and Anthea."

Iris blinked in surprise before she said, "Anthea… well, we don't know what neo Team Plasma did to her. She's on life support, but she might be able to recover. We don't know where Rood is-"

"Another sign of the League's pathetic incompetency," Gorm said rudely. "You don't know what happened to Rood? Just like you don't know what happened to the few higher up admins in Team Plasma that turned after our first fall? They were all murdered. The Shadow Triad were enraged by Ghetsis being arrested and at N's disappearance. You can't possibly believe I'm unaware that the Shadow Triad went on a little hunting spree last year. They found me and the other Sages and brought us back to the P2 labs and the Plasma Frigate. We helped them to gather our head admins and loyal followers before the first wave of United Regions' trainers could come. I know about all the Plasma members murdered in Witness Protection. There was nothing that we could do to stop them. We were all terrified of the Shadow Triad. You know why you haven't heard anything from Rood, Champion? I mean you had several sightings of N, but nothing about Rood. It's because he's dead. He either killed himself or was horribly tortured to death by the Shadow Triad."

Gorm then leaned forward to Iris and whispered, "Do you know Ghetsis' policy? Do you know why he has so many devout followers?"

Iris tried to look brave and indifferent in the face of this man but seeing that Gorm was genuinely scared terrified her. She silently shook her head as Gorm continued, "Keep your friends close and destroy all your enemies. There are no enemies that he'll bother to keep close. If he can't turn you to his side, he'll destroy you. The destruction varies depending on what that enemy means to him, but he'll make sure that person regrets not staying loyal to him. Ghetsis trusted Rood. Rood knew he would die the minute he left Plasma mansion because he knew he would give N a window of escape whether it be through the League or by him leaving. Rood didn't have anything to lose at that point, his wife had just died from cancer and his daughter had died three years before in a car accident. You don't want to imagine what Ghetsis has planned for you, Iris."

Iris felt as if her heart was pounding out of her chest, but she managed to maintain a blank face as she said, "Why in the Distortion World would you follow a man like that?"

"If you're his friend, he treats you well," Gorm said sadly. "Alex and Jenna adore him since he's the one that gave him a home. Peter was very close to their family from the beginning. Jackson also found a home in Team Plasma as did Rosa. Me and the other Sages were all friends with Ghetsis as well. He makes sure that everyone loyal to him is protected and well taken care of. He never laid a hand on Melody or N until they turned on him. No one that's loyal to him has ever been afraid that he'll suddenly decide to hurt them."

"So, he manipulates his own people to like him. 'Love me or I'll kill you,'" Iris said sadly. "What kind of life is that? One where you live in constant fear that your friend might turn around and kill you if he thinks you've betrayed him." Iris then returned the Dream Mist into the jar and sealed the lid shut. "I was never going to use it on you," Iris said softly. "What's different between me and Ghetsis is that I don't want to see my enemies suffer. I want justice, yes, but I don't want it at the cost of my own soul." Iris then looked at Gorm and said, "I'm sorry you live in Ghetsis' shadow. I hope one day you'll also be free. I hope all of neo Team Plasma will."

Iris turned to walk away when she heard Gorm whisper, "Opelucid City."

Iris paused before turning back to face the former sage. "What did you say?"

"Opelucid City," Gorm said tiredly. "That's where he's planning on attacking next. Not that it will make any difference. By this point, Ghetsis has already won, but maybe you could… evacuate… some of the citizens before it's too late."

Iris quickly turned to the remaining three Pokemon Masters, "We have to get there right away. Professor Juniper call the Elite Four and tell them what's happening. That bastard has another thing coming if he thinks he can attack my hometown."

Iris and the Pokemon Masters took off through the doors. Gorm considered whether he should have told them about the DNA splicers, but… no… it was too late for Unova. Not to mention what Ghetsis would do to him if he found out he had helped the League. At least the presence of the League in Opelucid City would make it easier for Ghetsis to eliminate them, and… maybe not all the citizens would have to die from this. Maybe.

**A/N: Again SnowCatt thanks for the continued support! I really appreciate it.**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bianca whispered to me as she nervously readjusted her black gloves and hitched up her belt. "I mean I know this is better than trying to escape in our normal outfits, but do you really think we'd pass as members of neo Team Plasma."

I knelt next to the two unconscious female neo Team Plasma members we'd knocked out when they attacked us after we'd escaped deeper into the frigate. I pulled off the boots of one of them and quickly slipped them on over the gray jumpsuit I'd already donned. They were a size too small, but I decided it was better to have tight boots than it was to have big clunky ones that made it hard to move around in. "Not to mention these things are super uncomfortable," Bianca continued, "Who the Distortion World thought it would be a good idea to have skintight jumpsuits. It's embarrassing and degrading to wear especially when you don't have a bikini-ready body!"

I stood up and shifted uncomfortably in the new outfit. I definitely agreed with what Bianca said since I too didn't feel comfortable in a uniform that was designed for a body that was much more filled out than mine was. Not to mention how difficult it was to breathe in this half mask thing they wore over their face all the time. "Well it's better than nothing," I said quietly as I undid my long brown hair from its ponytail and let it fall in waves around me. I placed the black pirate hat on my head and braided my hair to keep it out of the way. "Plus, we got their security cards which will help us getting into stuff." I looked down at my card and saw the image of a scowling brunette with the name-

"Her name's Hilda," Bianca said with a snicker as she looked over my shoulder to read my card. "Kind of makes me think of Black's old name, Hilbert. Mine isn't so bad. It's Bel, but look at the picture," she showed me a woman with short spiky black hair with a slight sneer on her face.

"She looks like a lovely human being," I said sarcastically. "One thing's for sure; we can't show our security cards to anyone or they'll know we're imposters." I checked the knots on the escape ropes we used to tie up the Plasma members to make sure they weren't going to come loose anytime soon and said, "We better get out of here. Hopefully, they won't find these two any time soon."

We left the storage room we had been changing in and out to the black metal and eerie fluorescent glow of the frigate's corridor. Black and Cheren were already outside decked out in their own neo Team Plasma uniforms watching for any Plasma members that might come by. Nightstar also looked like he'd gotten back some of his strength and he came up and jumped into my arms. I felt him shake slightly in a way that I felt he was saying, 'Something's very wrong Ivory. Something bad happened. I can feel it.'

"Okay, so what's the plan," Bianca asked in a slightly shrill voice. She coughed and continued normally, "I mean, Riley… Riley… oh Arceus do you think he's alright? Ivory said that…"

"I know," Black said seriously, "but I don't think we should say he's gone. I imagine it isn't easy to kill someone like him. You saw what he was doing out there when he was fighting Team Plasma. For all we know, he's following the frigate on his Staraptor."

"He did tell us to find N," I said. "Maybe we can use our disguises to find out where he is."

"I think we could do a lot more than just find N," Cheren said. "With these disguises, we might be able to deal some real damage to the frigate. We could try and sabotage the engines to force it to land or we could even cause an explosion to force it down."

"Cheren, don't forget that we're here as well. If we blow it up or do something to the frigate, we'll go down with it," Bianca pointed out.

"I know, but I think it's worth the risk," Cheren said quietly. "Unova's been terrorized by these bastards for long enough. If we get the opportunity to stop them, we should take it."

"We can't sabotage the frigate and find N at the same time," Black added. "We only have so much time on the frigate before the ruse is up and they find out who we really are. I say we split up into groups: one that finds a way to sabotage the frigate while the other looks for N."

"If we're going to split up, we should go in pairs," Cheren said while looking at each of us. "I have a feeling that wherever N is, he's going to be well-guarded and hard to get to. I think Ivory and I should go together to find him while Black and Bianca go and try to find either the engine room or the control center."

"The only problem is that our phones aren't working," Black said while bringing out his phone. "We don't have any signal so there's no way of knowing what the other's up to or if one of us needs help."

"I know… I mean, we could try to all meet up on the deck in two hours, but realistically, I don't think that'll happen," Cheren replied. "If Ivory and I find N before you can sabotage the frigate, we're still going to have to get off this frigate as quickly as possible. If you two can bring down the frigate before we find N, then we'll have to work under those circumstances. Either way, I think we need to solely focus on our task and then make a run for it."

Bianca looked pale and frightened, but she nodded determinedly, and I said, "We'll do it. It isn't like we have another choice anyways."

"If that's settled, Bianca and I'll go down to the lower decks to look for the engine room," Black said as he gently nudged Bianca down the hallway away from us. "You two should try and find out where they keep their prisoners."

Cheren and I nodded, and together we headed down the opposite direction from where Black and Bianca were going. I glanced back to see their retreating figures and desperately prayed that I'd see them again. "Ivory, you're going to have to do something about Nightstar," Cheren whispered to me as we descended a set of metal stairs that caused our feet to echo through the narrow stairwell. "Having a Shinx out in the open is a dead giveaway for who we are."

I glanced down at Nightstar and considered what to do with him. Maybe he could hide under my hat… no he was too big. Maybe in my vest… that also wouldn't work. Nightstar jumped down and swished his tail, 'I can follow from a distance. I'm small and fast so it should be easy to hide from the Plasma members, and if anyone gets too close, I'll zap them and run.'

"Are you sure," I asked worriedly. "What if they try and capture you? Then you'll be…"

'I know, but we don't have any other options,' Nightstar said as he walked away from us. 'I won't be too far. Whenever you need me, I'll be there.'

"Okay. Be safe," I turned to look at Cheren, "Come on. We need to find N; the clock's ticking."

* * *

Opelucid City was eerily silent in the night despite it being one of the most heavily populated cities in all Unova. Moonlight bathed the modern district of the city where skyscrapers pierced the night sky causing the windows to glint brightly. In the center of the city was the older, more traditional style of housing and parks that were surrounded by trees and dotted with flowerbeds. Straddling the line between modern and old was the Gym with stone dragons of black and white spiraling around the building. The occasional car or pedestrian went down the street, but other than that, everything seemed peaceful.

Zinzolin walked down the dark streets dimly lit by overhead streetlamps and shivered slightly as a colder more wintery breeze swept down the road. He activated his earpiece and asked, "Are we all in position?"

Jackson's voice sounded, "Squadron 1's in position near the Lake District. Ten Liepards are ready to attack the City Hall."

"Squadron A's also in position in the East District with our Pokemon prepared to attack the Battle House," Peter said.

"Excellent. Osamu and I aren't far from the Gym and the frigate is less than an hour away," Zinzolin replied as he slowly walked across the street toward the looming Gym. "Remember to not stop attacking until my signal for when Drayden calls out the security surrounding his Gym. When that happens, have the squadron evacuate the city completely and report back to the Plasma Frigate."

"Yes sir," came the reply from both Jackson and Peter. "We'll start the attack right away."

Zinzolin paused and retreated into the shadows when he noticed a burly man in a white shirt and suspenders racing towards the Pokemon Gym. From the white hair, mustache, and beard, Zinzolin knew that it was Drayden. He heard him say over his phone, "Did you find out where the attack would happen? Will it be the Gym like it was in Striaton?... evacuate the citizens? As in they're going to attack the entire city?... How is that even possible?... You're right, we really don't know what they're capable of… I'll tell the mayor to put the city in a state of emergency and have him try to get the citizens out in the most effective manner."

Suddeny there were multiple explosions coming from the west and the east sides of the city causing plumes of smoke to curl around the glass buildings. Drayden swore, "I've got to go Iris. It looks like they've already started the attacks." Zinzolin smirked as he watched Drayden call out his Dragonite and fly towards the source of the smoke. 'It's too late you fool. It's too late.'

* * *

Cheren and I walked in silence down the long corridor of the lower decks of Team Plasma where a crowd of Plasma members ran past us. The lights had shifted to red and were flashing steadily to show that the frigate was in an emergency, but there was no overhead announcement to say why. The frigate was flying smoothly along, so I couldn't imagine it was because of something Black and Bianca had done.

"There's no way we're going to find anything on this frigate if we don't ask someone something," Cheren muttered. "This frigate is huge! We've already been through several levels of just Plasma quarters… that's not exactly helpful."

"And how will we do that?" I asked. "Go up to some random dude and say, 'Hey do you know where your crazy psycho leader is keeping your former king?' If we say anything, it'll raise a red flag."

"Well I imagine we'd ask with a little more finesse than that," Cheren said dryly. "Maybe we can say we've been recently assigned as prison guards and that we just got a little lost and need some directions."

"Alright, but if worse comes to worst… I… maybe I could pretend to be your prisoner or something and you caught me."

Cheren pursed his lips before saying slowly, "Maybe… but let's hope it doesn't come to that. If either of us pretends to be a prisoner, it means we have to temporarily be separated from our Pokemon and you'd be blindfolded. We'll go with the new guards thing first."

I nodded and followed Cheren down another staircase and down yet another hall in this twisted metal maze of a ship. I noticed that the area seemed different than the other ones. This area was all lit up, and even though there was flashing red light, it was much less noticeable. The color pallet here seemed more friendly having changed from black and dull gray to black with electric blue lines running along the wall.

We could also hear more people talking and less people were hurrying past us. In fact, there were several members of neo Team Plasma casually leaning against the walls and talking amongst themselves. The atmosphere itself seemed less oppressive and anxiety inducing. Cheren and I exchanged glances before we both tried to walk as confidently as we could around the members and walked through one of the doors that opened up into a bright and almost cheerful cafeteria.

Plasma members sat along rows with plates of food in front of them and pleasant chatter filled the area. Several of the members looked up from where they were sitting and stared at us as we walked inside before turning to their neighbor to whisper while shooting glances in our direction. I tried to stay as calm as possible as Cheren and I approached a couple of them. The Plasma members looked up and narrowed their eyes suspiciously, and I felt myself go cold as I noticed that not two tables down were a couple of Plasma members I'd run into with N at Driftveil.

'Stay calm, stay calm,' I reminded myself over and over again as Cheren said confidently, "Hi, sorry to interrupt your meal, but me and my co-worker, Hilda White, have been instructed to replace the prison guards so they can be free to try and pursue the intruders that boarded the frigate. However, we've gotten lost on the way. Would you mind pointing us in the right direction?"

One of the Plasma members laughed, "What was your original assignment to get a lousy gig like that?"

Cheren and I glanced at each other again before I said, "Uh… we were the maintenance crew beforehand… What's wrong with being a prison guard?"

Another Plasma member rolled his eyes and said, "Because Team Plasma doesn't take prisoners. The only things in the holding center are a bunch of Pokemon with minimum maintenance. I hear that most of them won't even be there anymore."

Cheren shifted nervously and laughed a little, "Well, we still have to take their place you know even if it is a lousy job. So… um… where was it again?"

"It's on Level C down hall 2," the Plasma member said casually. "Too bad you're missing out on all the action."

"Um… what do you mean," I asked trying to sound as calm as possible. "Do you um… mean trying to track down those intruders. I'm okay not going to try and find them since I don't like battling with my Pokemon."

A couple of the Plasma members snickered when I said this and one of them whispered loudly to her neighbor, "She was one of_ those_ Plasma members."

The guy we'd been talking to said, "Nah, the admins and the Shadow Triad will find them. I'm talking about the big attack we're doing tonight. I mean, no one really knows what's going to happen since the admins and Sages have been pretty tight-lipped ever since… um… anyway, apparently this attack's going to be epic. It'll be bigger than anything we've ever done before."

"Wow, that's really cool," I said weakly. "I only heard about some of the attacks since most of the time I'm repairing a pipe or something."

"Yes, well, we should really be going," Cheren said as he grabbed my arm and led me away from the Plasma members. "Got a job to do guarding those Pokemon and whatnot. Thanks for the help."

Cheren and I quickly left the dining hall and he whispered, "This is definitely not good. I hope Black and Bianca are able to do something before this attack happens."

"Not to mention that N's apparently not even in the holding center," I muttered back. "How are we going to find him now? Where the Distortion World could they be keeping him?"

"He might still be there, and the other Plasma members just don't know about it," Cheren whispered. "I think we should still check it out."

We hurried back to the stairwell and descended the stairs until we came to a set of doors with the large letter "C" coated on it in yellow paint and walked through them to yet another, darker metal hallway. It wasn't long until we ran into a large set of black doors with a security lock next to it. I took out the ID card and scanned it against the lock which made it flash green and click indicating it was opened.

Cheren quickly flung the door open revealing a brightly lit metal path going through cells with equally bright white interiors. Clear glass separated the path from the cell, and almost all of them were open except the first one. "Trixie!" I practically screamed as I ran over and knelt in front of the first cell. Trixie was currently curled in a ball of black, gray and red fur. She wearily lifted her head so that I could see her muzzled mouth and dull blue eyes which widened the minute she saw me. Immediately, she raced over to the cell glass wall and began yipping excitedly. I noticed that she seemed genuinely scared and anxious by the way she paced back and forth and looked fearfully over my shoulder.

I got up and ran to the door and called as quietly as I could, "Nightstar! You have to get in here now." Around the corner popped Nightstar's head with his light blue fur, large ears, and luminescent yellow eyes. He dashed over to where I was and slipped into the door and ran up to where Trixie was. "Nightstar, I need you to translate for me, okay." Nightstar nodded, and I said, "Trixie, where's N? Do you know what's happening?"

Trixie began yipping a series of "Zor's" which Nightstar translated, 'She says that N isn't here. She says he's with a scientist named Colress… She says they've been torturing both of them, but she feels that they've done something to N that's… that's… destroyed him… before you ask, she also doesn't know what she means by 'destroyed.' She says we need to rescue the other Pokemon.'

Trixie then animatedly jabbed her muzzled maw to the direction of another section of the prison area. Nightstar continued, 'She says we have to save N, but she worries it might be too late.'

I quickly told Cheren everything that Trixie had said and added, "I-I don't know what they did to N, but it doesn't matter as long as we can find him. He's going to be okay," My voice had started to crack at that point, and I continued with a shaky voice, "He has to be okay."

I brushed the tears that had started to form away from my eyes and hurried over to the side door and again scanned my card to let me inside. This time I did scream. In front of us were the Kalos Pokemon I had seen from the sewers with N, but this time… oh Arceus. The glass walls of their prison and the other normally white walls were smeared with streaks of red blood that no one had bothered to clean up. The Pokemon had been forced to live in their own filth, and each of them had their ribs visibly showing with matted, disgusting fur or feathers.

Bile started to rise in my throat as I studied the Pokemon more closely. Arrow, the little Fletchling N had given me, lay in the corner where he had now evolved Fletchinder, but his black tail feathers and wings had been plucked leaving scars. One of his claws was skewered and his beak looked like it had been smashed repeatedly into a wall. The Chespin I had seen before which had looked like a cheerful Pokemon was now a Quilladin staring blankly at the white wall splattered with his own blood. Deep cuts lined his body, and his nose and ears had been viciously torn leaving barely… oh Arceus. The only one that looked relatively normal was the Dedenne. It at least hadn't been mutilated, but it was huddled in a corner sobbing quietly and there was still blood laced along the floor. I noticed that there were two empty cells coated in blood but with no Pokemon inside them.

By this point I was hugging Cheren and sobbing into his shoulder who looked equally horrified. "Oh Arceus," He whispered.

"Th-They did this to them because they couldn't control N," I said through bouts of tears. "I-I know they did. Oh Arceus… what the Distortion World did they do to N?"

I heard a blast of energy and the sound of wires short circuiting and I looked up to see that Nightstar had zapped the panel to Trixie's cage to let her out. She streaked by us to the other Pokemon where she froze in her spot. Her shoulders began to shake as she cried, and I knelt next to her to undo the muzzle around her mouth. She turned to me and fiercely yipped something so forcefully that Nightstar didn't have to translate to tell me she was demanding that we save them.

Wordlessly Nightstar zapped each of the security panels releasing the three tortured Pokemon which Cheren then captured in a pokeball. "The damage neo Team Plasma's dealt to these Pokemon will be more than any Pokecenter can handle, but at least they can help them," Cheren said quietly as he hooked their pokeballs to his belt.

Trixie ran past us yipping that she was going to rescue N. I felt numb as we raced after her and I again silently prayed to Arceus that we'd find N, and that we'd find him alive and… if not okay at least not maimed and mutilated like the Pokemon. I could almost hear Trixie praying the same things as we descended further and further down the dark metal beast of a ship.

* * *

Ghetsis silently watched the monitors overhead displaying images of terrified Unovans running the streets of Opelucid City as Liepard after Liepard sent dark pulses of energy at towering buildings causing the glass to shatter and rain down on the citizens. Chunks of debris from the near constant attacks fell and smashed parked cars as well as Unovans too slow to escape the destruction. Purple pulses of light destroyed old statues as well as modern pieces of art. However, soon a Dragonite and a Haxarous appeared along with an older man with white hair who ordered his Pokemon to attack the Plasma Liepards. In other parts of the city also being destroyed by Team Plasma, League members attacked with their own Pokemon to try and counter all the chaos in the city.

Ghetsis' focus shifted to the monitor next to it which showed the golden spirals of the Pokemon League. "Are you in position Alex and Jenna?" Ghetsis asked.

"Yes Lord Ghetsis, the device has been activated and we're ready to move on your signal," Jenna reported dutifully.

"The Light and Dark Stone should be in the Champion's chambers in a security vault," Ghetsis said as he turned to look at Kyurem who was standing dutifully in the center of a room filled with machinery. "Kill any League member or Elite Four that gets in your way. Once you've secured the stones, hand them to Takeo for him to bring back here. Since they've taken down our P2 labs, I imagine that they're keeping several of our scientists there. Release any that you find. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis," Alex and Jenna said once more before they turned off communications.

_"You intend for me to obliterate all those humans?"_ Kyurem asked gazing at the image of the screaming humans running through the streets of Opelucid City.

"Yes," Ghetsis said simply. "They're necessary sacrifices to achieve our goals. Once the people of Unova see that we not only will destroy the League but them as well, they'll more easily comply to Team Plasma."

Kyurem paused, _"It will be entire generations of humans lost. It could devastate the entire Region."_

"I understand the risks and the costs," Ghetsis said softly. "However, I think it's better to have one wave of death that wipes out all resistance than continual fighting that will make the body count grow higher for both my people and the Unovans."

Kyurem was silent for a moment, _"I suppose, but the Ancient Ones often thought large destruction would earn them their power over the people. Their wars did lead to the eventual desolation of this Region long ago."_

"Perhaps, but the Celestas were fighting amongst themselves," Ghetsis replied before turning to look back at the monitors. "If there is only one Celesta to rule to perpetuate the same thought and leadership, there will be no conflict."

Kyurem didn't reply, and Ghetsis continued, "Soon Kyurem, all of Unova will be ours."

The static of Zinzolin calling in sounded, and the Sage said, "Drayden has ordered all of the League members to come and counter our Plasma forces. The Gym's completely undefended now. Osamu and I will infiltrate the Gym and retrieve the DNA splicers."

"Excellent," Ghetsis said. "We've just reached the outskirts of Opelucid as we speak. We'll attack once we've reached the center and most populated part of the city." He turned to the Plasma member standing next to him, "Prepare the Kyurem cannon."

The member nodded and rushed to activate the machinery causing several gears above them to light up and spin. Ghetsis accessed the power of the Celesta's and watched his cane begin to emit a blue glow filling him with the familiar, intoxicating power he had become so accustomed to when he was younger. He felt his and Kyurem's minds meld once more, and he said to the god, 'It's time for the Unovans to be reminded what a god's capable of.'

* * *

Cold wind swept through Iris' long purple hair as her Hydreigon glided across the tall trees nearly devoid of all their formerly colorful leaves. Beside her were the Pokemon Master with Red on his Charizard, Pearl on her Salamance, and Ruby on his Flygon. "Come on Hela, we've got to go faster," Iris encouraged her Hydreigon causing the Pokemon to try and increase her speed. They had just crested another tall hill dotted with dead brown grass and the occasional cabin when Iris at last saw the Opelucid skyline.

"Um… I think we just found the Plasma Frigate," Pearl said as she pointed at a large ship sailing across the full moon making it seem more like a fairy type tale than reality.

"That thing can fly?" Ruby asked. "No wonder we could never find it when we were flying out over the ocean."

Iris felt Hela's body begin to strain as the Hydreigon began to desperately try to fly even faster towards the fast approaching city line. The frigate slowed its course as it came to the center of the city, and Iris could only watch in horror as a blast of blue and white energy shot down from the ship and directly between the tall skyscrapers. The attack caused a large amount of mist to be generated which then shot out encompassing the entire city and even reaching as far out as to where Iris and the Pokemon Masters were.

The arctic wind caused Hela to scream in pain, and even Red's Charizard balked in pain from the sheer cold that shot into their skins like daggers. Iris felt a sense of weightlessness as she and Hela crashed into the side of the hill. When the mist had finally dissipated, Iris saw that the entire hill and area surrounding the city was covered in frost and the dew that had been nestled in the tree branches were now icicles. Beneath Hela weakly crowed in pain as she tried to move her body that had shards of glass embedded into her wings and fur. Iris quickly returned her Hydreigon and saw that the other Pokemon Masters had to do the same with their Pokemon.

Iris looked over to the city and felt her heart drop at the sight in front of her. The skyscrapers and buildings that once had been full of light were now encrusted in a coat of ice that glinted sadly in the dim light of the moon. Iris' grip on her pokeball loosened causing it to fall to her side as she leaned heavily against the icy tree to stop her from falling completely. In front of her was her home now covered in ice and where there should have been screams and wails from terrified citizens was met only with dead silence.

**A/N: If you want any cool references to visualize this horribleness, I would recommend watching Pokemon Generations Episode 14: The Frozen World. It really inspired me when I was writing this.**

**Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but I love the scene when Team Plasma blasts Opelucid City with ice. It's so epic and I remember thinking that they were actually evil when I played this. I know I'm weird, but... I love it when the bad guys make me angry or terrified or at least feel something. Hopefully this story hasn't been too clogged down with background information and world-building or the perspectives are too weird, but I think that all those are important to making a fun and interesting story. I won't lie in saying that this story has gone a lot longer than I thought, but things are picking up now!**

**Anyway, R/R's always appreciated and I hope you enjoyed this chapter of destruction! Yay!**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

"Why does the Plasma Frigate have to be so damn cold?" Black muttered as he and Bianca crept along a narrow corridor with long metal pipes lining both sides and even the ceiling. Bursts of freezing white vapor spurted occasionally from the intersecting pieces of pipe, and the metals constantly groaned and creaked as if they were under a great deal of pressure. Their feet echoed eerily along the grated metal of the floor, and the utility corridor seemed to twist and turn endlessly in the depths of the frigate.

"It lowered the temperature outside the frigate as well," Bianca added. "It doesn't feel like any ship should be this cold."

The frigate suddenly lurched forward causing both Bianca and Black to topple forward as the ship tipped downwards before regaining stability. The pipes began clattering incessantly as the steam emitted from them increased exponentially causing the entire utility corridor to be filled with the freezing white mist. "What the Distortion World was that?" Black demanded.

"I'm not sure… maybe… maybe the frigate's under attack."

"Maybe… um… Bianca, you can get off me now." Bianca felt her cheeks begin to heat up as she realized that she had fallen squarely on top of Black effectively pinning him down.

She scrambled to her feet and stuttered, "S-Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Black said as he too got up and brushed himself off. "Anyway, even if the Celestas or the League are attacking the frigate, we still need to find the engine room to bring it down."

They began walking once more down the hall with Bianca trailing quietly behind Black. Black scanned the walls to see if there was any hatch off towards the side that would lead to the engine room. He'd lost track of how long they'd been wandering down here, but he was sure it'd been several hours which only increased his anxiety. The longer they were on here, the more likely they were to get caught before they could do anything to stop neo Team Plasma.

"Black… do you think we'll make it out of here. Like, honestly. Not pep talk stuff," Bianca asked as she drew closer to him as the pipes began to make an odd rattling noise.

"You know what I believe Bianca," Black said seriously as he turned to look at the pale, frightened girl. "I believe in self-fulfilling prophecies. If you tell yourself you won't make it out of this, then you won't, but if you fight like you think you'll see another sunrise, then you will. I have to tell myself that we'll be okay because if I don't, I'll lose focus and let fear take over. So yes Bianca, we're going to make it."

Bianca swallowed before nodding and shakily saying, "Alright. I believe you Black."

"Just think of it like a Pokemon battle. No matter how tough the opponent you face is, you have to believe and plan your attacks like you can win it," Black explained as they continued down the corridor, "Not that you shouldn't realize your own weaknesses compared to the opponent, but every Pokemon no matter how weak they might be can do something to help during the battle."

Bianca sighed, "Maybe that's my problem. I'm bad at Pokemon battles."

"No. The only problem is you think too much during a battle," Black said. "Besides, you don't need to be a great Pokemon battler to be a strong person."

"But I'm… I'm not a strong person," Bianca said so quietly she thought Black hadn't heard, but he stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. Bianca continued, "I'm scared Black. I… I can't do anything to help, and I just drag everyone else down. Maybe if I was braver and told you sooner about N or maybe… maybe if I was a better judge of character, I could have stopped this. I'm sorry for not being a better person."

"Is that seriously what you tell yourself?" Black demanded, and when Bianca gave a small nod, Black said, "Bianca, you're the most amazing person I know. You came here to help us because you care about your friends and the Unova Region. You could have stayed behind, but you didn't. Not to mention that you're the smartest person out of all of us."

Bianca averted her eyes and whispered, "That's not me. That's Cheren. I'm just the ditzy airhead."

"Um… who's the one going to college and planning on getting a PhD in Pokemon biology? Not Cheren. Bianca you're already starting to work at one of the most prestigious labs in all the Unova Region, and you know it's not because of favoritism since it's Professor Juniper and she's really selective of her assistants. Bianca, it doesn't matter if you're the bravest because you're brave when it really counts. It doesn't matter if you're a good trainer since you have so many other things going for you. You're enough the way you are, and you certainly don't have to prove yourself to anyone; least of all to me."

When Black had said this, he'd taken Bianca's hands into his own causing her eyes to widen as she looked up into his chestnut eyes. She blushed slightly, and whispered, "T-Thanks Black." Impulsively, she let go of his hands and threw her arms around him and tightly embraced him. His arms wrapped around her as well, and he brought her in closer so that her cheek was pressed against his chest where she heard his steady heartbeat. She was faintly surprised when she felt his hands move up her spine and gently caress her blonde hair, but instead of pulling away, she tightened her grip so that they were even closer than before.

In the end, it was Black who pulled away with his cheeks tinged a bright shade of Cheri red as he stuttered, "U-Um… a-anyway, y-yeah… the engine room. We better get going."

They began walking down the tunnel, but this time, Bianca walked next to him—their hands brushing against each other. Black still looked slightly embarrassed, but when Bianca grabbed his hand as they continued down, his immediately held hers so that their fingers were interlacing.

They hadn't been walking for too much longer when they finally came to an intersection in the labyrinth of pipes that had metal rungs welded to the side leading up to a hatch. On the hatch painted in yellow were the words: 'Engines: Caution machinery may start without warning.'

"I think we're in the right place."

* * *

I braced myself against the slick metal walls of the Plasma Frigate as the ship tilted forward and the dim fluorescent lights flickered plunging us into momentary darkness. When the lights came back on, it was only the eerie red glow of the emergency lights making the hallway seem even darker and more terrifying.

I glanced over at Cheren who had fallen to the floor behind Trixie. Trixie at least had managed to keep her balance during the momentary imbalance of the frigate. Nightstar, who had been hiding in my thick brown hair which I'd let down per Trixie's suggestion, peaked his head out and twitched his ears slightly, 'What was that?'

I shook my head, "I don't know… Those Plasma members mentioned a big attack happening tonight. This could be related."

Cheren got to his feet and said, "I think you might be right. The League had no idea where the Plasma Frigate was or that it could fly, and we haven't been able to contact them to warn them. It could be the Celestas, but I'm not sure how they would get here either."

Trixie's disguise as a Plasma guard shimmered and morphed to a young woman with long ebony hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and a long white lab coat. She gestured us to keep following her, and she turned to walk through another set of doors that led to yet another stairwell where she raced down the stairs.

Cheren and I followed her as quietly as we could despite how our bulky boots clattered down the metal stairs causing the sound to reverberate in the enclosed area. We finally came to a set of doors with a large yellow D on it. When we walked through the doors, my pulse began to race and my breath caught in my throat as I saw that the area we had just walked into was full of Plasma guards and men and women wearing similar white lab coats to the one Trixie had. I glanced nervously over at Cheren who was trying to look as confident as possible. I was comforted that I could at least feel Nightstar's warm breath and soft fur rubbing the back of my neck as we began walking through the crowd of Plasma members.

We walked silently by a couple of scientists loitering the halls, and I caught one saying, "I heard the attack was even more powerful than Dr. Colress had predicted. The blast spread through the entire city, the suburbs, and even some of the rural areas."

A couple of guards beyond them were chattering, "Thank Arceus these attacks finally happened. I'm getting tired of being cooped up in the frigate all day."

"It's just too bad that the attacks were so severe," one said sadly. "I don't care about the League, but all of Opelucid City… I know it had to happen, but it's still sad."

I glanced over at Cheren who was looking rather pale, but he managed to continue looking stoically ahead with no reaction to what he'd just heard. I fought to keep my hands relaxed instead of tightly bound fists, but it was hard especially when learning that they'd apparently attacked an entire city.

We turned another corner which was fortunately less crowded than the other hallway, but there were more guards here who looked like they were patrolling this area. We barely walked two steps down the corridor when a guard came up to us, "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you two to leave. Lord Ghetsis has ordered this area to be completely off limits while the intruders are on board."

"Sir, we've been ordered to escort this scientist, Dr. Genkaku, to Dr. Colress," Cheren replied confidently.

The guard narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "What's your security clearance?"

"Um…" Cheren started, but Trixie had already taken the initiative to punch the guard in the jaw sending him tumbling to the ground. The other patrolling guards swore and brought out their pokeballs while one started to radio in, but Nightstar had at that point leapt out from beneath my hair and jumped straight to the guards where he sent out a pulse of electricity. For good measure, Trixie reverted back to her Pokemon form and lunged at each of the Plasma members with dark pulses of energy to ensure that each of them was knocked out.

"I think they noticed that," Cheren muttered noting how quiet it had gotten from the corridor we had just come from. He grabbed my hand and we bolted down the long, twisting hallway.

Several Plasma members ran around the corner to see us running by several passed out guards, and one of them radioed, "The intruders are in Level D down hallway 1 disguised as members of Team Plasma. They have a Shinx and a Zorua with them."

Cheren unhooked a pokeball which he quickly threw behind him at the Plasma members who were racing after us revealing Clove. The Plasma members sent out their own Pokemon which included a Watchog and a Stoutland. I turned to stop the Watchog from using hypnosis on us while I had the Stoutland turn and tackle one of the members. "Clove use surf!" Cheren shouted.

The Carracosta generated a large body of water which it immediately sent down the hallway flooding the metal walls and sweeping the Plasma members away. Cheren returned his Pokemon, and we continued sprinting down through the twisting metal maze until we came to a lead door with a security panel to the side of it. Without a moment's hesitation, Cheren sent out a large Conkeldurr who immediately smashed open the door without waiting to see if we could make it through the security panel.

Trixie and Nightstar immediately led us inside where we were met with brightly lit labs that lined the sides of the hallway. Each of them was filled with monitors and tables scattered with notes and scraps of metal some of which were being assembled. The monitors had sloppy notes and equations scribbled across them along with scientific jargon. One room contained a slab of ice that was being scanned by a machine, but the lab itself was completely devoid of people.

Nightstar and Trixie started sneezing the further we walked into the lab. Nightstar wiggled his nose slightly, 'This place smells awful! It smells like Bianca did when we were out by Icirrus City and she insisted on wearing about two max repels.' It was so bad that Cheren's Conkeldurr refused to step a foot inside the lab. Instead the Pokemon swung his head back and forth, snuffled slightly from the smell, and even began to take big, lumbering steps away from the area before Cheren returned him.

The lab was discomfortingly quiet aside from a gentle hum of machinery that was heard throughout the frigate, and it only got worse the further we got inside. My heart was pounding against my chest as we ran inside a large circular room with black metal walls and a large white circle in the middle. The temperature here seemed to drop by at least 10 degrees or more when we entered the room, but since there was nothing here, we continued moving forward.

We slowed down, and we peered into the labs as we walked swiftly down the corridor. Each of them was filled with medical equipment such as heart monitors, bottles of medicine and needles, or bags of fluid. Bulky machinery lined each room along with dozens of notes scrawled across monitors in large, loopy handwriting. Glass beakers lined several shelves each filled with a variety of chemicals and substances.

It felt like my heart would pound out of my chest from the anxiety and adrenaline pumping through my veins as we came to the final door to the side of the hall. Inside were dozens of monitors and computers accompanied with medical equipment like the other rooms, but most importantly, at the very back of the lab was a holding area protected by a glass wall where a sixteen-year-old boy with a mess of tea green hair was behind it. His back was currently pressed against the far wall, and he had his arms wrapped around his legs and his head resting on his knees in fetal position.

I ran to the cell and slammed my fist against the heavy glass while Trixie yipped madly and attacked the glass. "N!" I yelled as I ripped off my half mask. N wearily looked up with lifeless and hopeless eyes. His normally pale skin looked a sickening sheen of white with only dark circles beneath his lusterless stormy blue eyes giving his face any color.

I saw a flicker of confusion as he asked skeptically, "Ivory… is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. We're here to rescue you!" As I said this, Nightstar went over to the security panel by the door and began sending volts of electricity to short circuit the door.

I splayed my hands against the glass, and N slowly got up to walk over to the glass wall. He placed his hands against where mine were, and my blood boiled when I saw that both his wrists were securely bound in black braces. His eyes were still dark and miserable as he sadly shook his head, "You can't be here Ivory… this has to be a dream."

I slid my hand down the glass where his face was and imagined running my fingers through his soft green hair and along the curve of his cheek. "I'm really here. We're going to get you out of here. I promise."

N shook his head and whispered, "It's too late… it's too late to stop them."

There was a faint click and electrical crackle as the wires Nightstar had been attacking short circuited causing the door to N's cell to slide open. Without a moment's hesitation, I dashed inside the cell and flung my arms around N's disturbingly spindly figure. He staggered slightly from my weight and would have most likely fallen had I not steadied myself and held him close to me. I lightly combed my fingers through his hair and rested my head in the crook of his neck while ignoring the cold metal of the black collar that was there. I brushed my lips against his soft skin and kissed him tenderly.

N's body felt rigid and tense in my arms, but he too returned my hug albeit a little awkwardly since he couldn't properly use his hands. He nuzzled his head into my brown locks and whispered mournfully, "Oh Ivory… why did you have to come? If they find you…" N shook his head and pulled from our embrace. He lifted his hand and with his fingers that weren't locked in the brace slid them down the side of my face and brushed my hair out of my face. He looked me in the eyes, and said urgently, "Listen, you have to get out of here before they find you. Get off this frigate and never come back."

I shook my head, "Not without you. Besides, literally everyone knows we're here." I took his arm and gently but firmly led him outside his cell as I said lightly, "Plus, a knight in shining armor does not travel all the way to where the crazy pirates kidnapped her prince only to leave empty handed."

N stopped, "Ivory, you don't understand. I… I…" he looked down in shame before continuing, "I don't have my powers anymore. He took it all from me and is using it to destroy Unova. Opelucid City… Ivory, those were Kyurem and my powers combined that wiped it out. Please, you can't fight them. Not when I'm still here."

"N remember what I said about not giving me that self-sacrificing Tauros crap," I said sharply as I once more dragged him towards the lab exit where Cheren was waiting impatiently outside to stay as a lookout. "I knew something awful had happened earlier… I mean, I didn't think it would be them taking your powers, but when I heard about the attack, I kind of suspected they'd done something to you. This is a really bad situation but trust me when I say that we know some people that can help."

"Ivory I don't know-"

"Stop. We're going together to escape and get help and that's final," I said determinedly.

I pulled N through the doors, and Cheren said, "It's about time. I'm surprised Team Plasma isn't here already with all the ruckus we made outside." Nightstar and Trixie again took charge leading us down the lab.

We had just made it to the empty main circular room when I felt an icy chill seep into my veins causing a shiver to run along my spine. "Oh Arceus," N whispered faintly. "It's them."

"Oh dear," I heard a pleasant voice say. "You three aren't supposed to be here." I looked to the source of the voice and saw that a man with a long white lab coat, glasses, some electronic equipment attached to his arm, and slicked back blond hair with a strange blue strand that wrapped around his head. He was carrying a tablet in one of his hands which he had apparently been studying when he walked inside. He didn't look all that frightening or intimidating and in fact had a rather nice smile.

N's body stiffened as he backed away from the scientist in front of us, and Cheren muttered to me, "That's Dr. Colress. The guy that built the Pokemon control device."

Trixie and Nightstar growled ferociously at the man and I yelled, "Nightstar use spark on Dr. Colress."

Nightstar charged forward, but before he could reach the scientist, Nightstar slowed and turned to me worriedly. He swished his tail, 'Ivory… are you sure that's the best idea?'

I stared at Nightstar for a moment, "What do you mean is it the best idea? Use spark and knock him out." I now noticed that Trixie was also trying to move forward, but she balked whenever she got too close to Dr. Colress and shied away.

The scientist calmly stepped towards us without meeting any resistance from either Nightstar or Trixie. Now I felt fear begin to weigh down on me like a ton of bricks, and I looked urgently to Nightstar who sadly shook his head while apologizing profusely for not being able to stop Dr. Colress. The man stopped in front of us and looked directly at N while ignoring both Cheren and I, "Specimen 14, I would have thought you'd learned by now that it's impossible to escape this frigate. I'm afraid this will automatically qualify you for a visit to the Shadow Triad. Unless of course you return to your cell and wait patiently while the lock is repaired."

N looked down and didn't say a single word, but I yelled, "Hey you son-of-a-Herdier his name's Natural Harmonia and he's never going back to that cell."

Cheren was busily studying Nightstar and Trixie who were still refusing to attack and asked, "What did you do to the Pokemon?"

Dr. Colress' yellow eyes brightened, and he excitedly turned to Cheren, "Isn't it brilliant! I've perfected my device so that all Pokemon including ones bonded to Whisperers follow my command. The range of both wild and captured Pokemon that can be controlled has also been increased so that Team Plasma can effectively direct an entire army of Pokemon that can be led across the Unova Region. Team Plasma's already successfully led an attack against the Unova League with the device. An absolute massacre on the League's end."

Cheren stared at the scientist and pursed his lips. I, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to lunge at the scientist in the hopes that I'd be able to tackle him and somehow manage to destroy the device attached to his wrist. My arms nearly reached the scientist who still hadn't bothered to look in my direction when someone aggressively knocked my arms back down to my waist where they then securely held them in place while cold metal was placed against my throat. I instinctively swung my leg back against a solid mass. I heard a sharp hiss as the blade was pressed more firmly against my neck causing a trickle of blood to be drawn.

I glanced over at Cheren and saw that another Shadow Triad member had grabbed Cheren in a similar hold to mine. N continued to stare down at the ground and Dr. Colress took a hold of N's chin and raised it to study him carefully like a Pokemon collector would a shiny Pokemon. "Truly a fascinating creature to have the ability to command even bonded Pokemon."

"Permission to speak, Dr. Colress," N said quietly.

"Granted."

N glanced over at me and then Cheren, "Please don't hurt them. Just torture me and let them go."

Dr. Colress laughed, "Oh Specimen 14, you seem to forget that you have absolutely no power here. Quite literally now. Your requests and demands have no effect on Team Plasma's decisions, and I'm afraid your friends were ordered to be executed the minute they approached the frigate. Nothing you say will change that verdict."

N finally glowered at the scientist and I saw the familiar spark of fight and determination I'd so often seen before light up in N's eyes. He sprang forward and barreled into Dr. Colress' chest which sent both tumbling to the ground. N fumbled to rip off the braces on his wrist, and once his hands were free, he grabbed the scientist's arm with the device attached and viciously swung it to the cold metallic floor to try and destroy it.

Unfortunately, the final Triad member appeared and forcefully pulled N off the scientist. N continued to writhe in the Triad's arms until he dropped N to the floor and pressed something on his wrist which caused N to reach for his collar and begin screaming in agony. "Stop it!" I yelled as I struggled to get away from the Shadow Triad holding me, but he just tightened his grip and pressed the blade deeper against my throat making the cut widen.

Dr. Colress got to his feet, straightened his skewed glasses and rumpled lab coat, and checked the device on his arm. "Now really Specimen 14 that was completely uncalled for. Luckily the device is far more durable than a few hits to the ground." Dr. Colress turned to finally look at me and said, "Don't kill the Whisperer right away. I'd love to run some final experiments on her with the device. I want to see if it can make a Pokemon kill a Whisperer. Who knows, maybe her own Shinx will kill her."

"No!" I screamed, but by that point the Shadow Triad member had grabbed N and teleported all three of us away from the lab.

* * *

Iris walked silently through the frozen wasteland of bleakly rising spires and tall buildings that had once been her home. Dotting the sides of the road were dozens of fleeing citizens and Pokemon desperately fleeing the city from the icy blast. The figures of running humans and scurrying Pokemon were frozen in place like grotesque ice sculptures—each with an expression of unadulterated terror. Cold wind whipped through the frozen ground zero creating an eerie hollow, empty sound as it swept through the buildings and the few cracks of ice.

Iris slid her hand along the ice encrusted over the buildings and felt the frigid chill creep into her fingers and shoot through arm. Oddly enough, the longer she held her hand there, instead of warming the ice even slightly to cause it to thaw, it only grew colder and colder. Iris withdrew her hand, but not before she saw movement through the veil of ice from one of the rooms in the building. She glanced around her, and saw that people were still alive in the frozen buildings each trying desperately to break through the crystal ice.

"Let's go Drake," Iris yelled as she unleashed her Druddigon. The large dragon type roared next to her, "Destroy the ice!"

The Druddigon's arm began glowing a flaming red as he powerfully swung it at the icy sheet in front of him only to have the attack ricochet back with double the force. Drake roared in pain as he was sent crashing backwards. Red released his Charizard and said, "Char use flamethrower on the ice," Hot flames sprung out of the Charizard's mouth and spread across the ice, but when the fire had died down, the ice looked the same as it had been before. There wasn't even a single drop of liquid to indicate any melting had occurred. Iris placed her hand on the ice once more and found it to be just as cold as it had been before the flames.

"What the Distortion World? It's not even like ice… it's more like diamond. Unbreakable," Iris said as she pulled her hand back to look at the other Pokemon Masters. "If we can't break it, that means…"

Pearl quickly threw out another Pokemon, a Claydoll, and said, "Use teleport to get through the ice." The Claydoll vanished momentarily, but soon reappeared just outside the sheet of ice. It turned to Pearl and motioned its body back and forth. "We can't get through with teleportation either…"

Iris looked again at the ice walls where people silently slammed their fists against the ice, "All those people… they're trapped in the ice. If they can't get them out, they won't have access to food or medical supplies. They'll all slowly die…"

To make matters worse, Iris got a phone call at that point from Grimsley. When she answered the phone, she heard Grimsley wheeze, "Iris… Team Plasma just attacked the Pokemon League. They used that device of theirs and turned all our Pokemon against us and stormed the entire vicinity. They slaughtered most of the League members defending the League, and they raided your office. I'm sure they took the Light and Dark Stone. We ourselves barely made it out of there before our own Pokemon…"

Iris stood there frozen to the spot as she listened to Grimsley. Her hands shook slightly, and she struggled to remain calm despite feeling like the world around her was collapsing. She tried to take calming breaths so that she could evenly say, "They've also attacked Opelucid City. I need the four of you to stay low and regroup at Black City. We can come up with some sort of plan to fight back there."

"Alright. We'll be there as soon as we can."

Iris hung up the phone and said, "Team Plasma just attacked the Pokemon League… they've… managed to overthrow it and… steal the Light and Dark Stones." The Pokemon Masters exchanged uneasy glances while Iris desperately thought to herself, 'What am I going to do? How can I possibly stop this? I… I have to keep leading the Unovans even with all this… horror… Oh Arceus, how can I defeat an enemy that can use our own weapons against us?'

Iris refused to think about surrendering to neo Team Plasma… not to a group of terrorists that would rule the Unova Region with an iron fist. She refused to give in to them, but if they had the Light and Dark Stone… the Unova Region hadn't stood a chance against N the first time Team Plasma had attacked, and quite honestly, it had been a miracle they'd gotten out. Despite having tried to better prepare the League for a possible Whisperer attack, they were woefully unprepared for anything like this.

Iris finally lashed out and punched the impenetrable ice while ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her wrist. She had to do something… anything… "I'm sorry for the loss of your city Champion Iris," a melodic voice called softly. Iris straightened immediately and swiveled around to see that just past the Pokemon Masters where two people dressed in robes and tunics. One had wavy blond hair, stormy blue eyes, and he had a commanding spirit that caught Iris' attention. The woman next to him looked to be middle aged like the man, but she wore simple black breeches, a blue tunic, had a long fighting stick slung across her back, and her raven hair was tightly wound in a braid.

It left a sour impression for Iris since it vaguely reminded her of Team Plasma's original outfits and N's own robes. Iris instinctively reached for her pokeballs, but it was Drake who placed a claw on her shoulder and shook his head. The other Pokemon Masters also backed away, but each of them seemed to recognize the man in front of them. "Who are you?" Iris demanded.

"My name is Jonathon from the Sinnoh Region," he said calmly, but Iris noted that the accent didn't sound very much like Sinnoh. It was a harsher dialect, and this man's voice was lilted and sounded in a series of cadences rather than just words. He gestured to the woman standing next to him who bowed to Iris respectfully, "This is Kayla, and I believe you've already run into my nephew several times. N Harmonia."

"You… you're… Celestas," Iris said finally understanding the outfits and the accents. "From Eterna Forest."

"Yes, and I'm afraid that all our best efforts to find N have not been sufficient to prevent catastrophe from befalling your Region. And for that, I offer my sincerest apology."

"What do you mean you've been doing something?" Iris demanded harshly. "I've sent dozens of League members to investigate Eterna Forest and all they've found is a forest that goes in circles. We haven't heard anything from you and-"

Ruby coughed loudly and interjected, "Um… Champion Iris, Yellow, who's not here right now, is actually a Celesta, and they've been the ones giving us leads to where N is ever since he ran after Team Plasma's first fall."

Pearl and Red nodded in agreement, and Iris said, "Oh… um… well, can you… get rid of this ice and stop Team Plasma?"

"That's why I'm here, Champion Iris," Jonathon said calmly. "I can't thaw this ice since it was created by a god. No Pokemon or human can so much as scratch the surface of it, but another one of the gods can. However, I fear we must leave the trapped humans inside their icy cells for the time being. Ghetsis Harmonia has spread himself thin with these attacks, and some of our own have already infiltrated their flying vessel. Now would be the opportune time to strike them for a last and final time."

Iris shook her head, "We have to regroup, and I don't even fully know who you are or what your strengths and weaknesses-"

"I am not offering you my assistance, Iris," Jonathon said authoritatively. "I am informing you that the Celestas will attack Team Plasma, and this is more of an invitation for you, Satoshi, Dawn, and Brendan to accompany us in battle."

The Pokemon Masters exchanged glances, and Pearl said, "Well, I'm in." Pearl looked over at Iris, "Trust me when I say that you don't want to miss a fight with the Celestas. I mean, last time they summoned Giratina and sent Cyrus to the Distortion World." Jonathon sighed and looked pointedly at Pearl, "Whoops. Sorry, I wasn't supposed to say that."

The other Pokemon Masters each agreed, and finally Iris said, "If it saves the Unova Region, then I'll definitely fight with you."

**A/N: Sorry for the late update! Just a couple of notes about stuff not fully explained:**

**Yellow's name is Chase because he's based on the male character from Let's Go Pikachu! and the Celesta's only call people by their real names rather than trainer names (i.e. they'd call Black Hilbert) Red doesn't have an actual name... so that made it kind of difficult. I ended up naming him Satoshi after Ash, but he's nothing like Ash.**

**Dr. Colress' device works on Trixie and Nightstar because it's based off of N's frequency when he's using his powers. (I mean, I could tell you I just wrote it that way since all this is made up pseudo science with a couple of real facts to make it seem real lol)**

**We're coming to the finale of the story! Yay! I've worked a lot harder on this one than my first one (honestly, my first story was just me thinking that I wanted to read some ferriswheelshipping with Team Plasma being more intelligent with sympathetic ideologies and a bunch of weird mythology in it. I didn't know the can of worms I was opening when I started writing this. Then this story comes along, and I was like 'I need my characters back in it' and while writing it I realized I had to actually write an outline since I wasn't going to follow the B2W2 story as much as I did the first one. Hey, it was a real learning experience)**

**Thanks again for the support! Reviews always welcome, and I hope you all stay safe from the coronavirus! Wash those hands!**

**SPOILERS! There's a dark chapter ahead which will have the summary at the end if reading about things like torture and death make you uncomfortable.**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

Kyurem tilted his head to gaze up at the black metal of the frigate's ceiling before letting out an icy breath. He felt a foreign presence permeating through the stale air which brought back memories of those white sails dotting the shore of the pale blue sea. Ancient Ones. Not the same as the child here in captivity since his power was… undisciplined. It came off in waves of hot, overwhelming energy, and Kyurem suspected it was due to the child having never learned to properly channel his own power. What Kyurem was sensing now was calm, rhythmic, steady, and… infuriated. Undoubtedly the Ancient Ones were angry over the now frozen human residence in the northern areas of the Unova Region.

Kyurem glanced over to Ghetsis who was currently holding the dormant spheres that embodied his brother and sister. He shuddered slightly as horrible images of hot fire consuming the once green trees while lightning splintered the sky proceeded by cackles of thunder. Kyurem still remember hiding in the cold underground caves to avoid the agony of having Reshiram's bright flames lick his heat sensitive skin. The battle between the two brothers seemed to wage on and on until all Kyurem could see was his once beautiful home become black twigs planted in fields of gray ash. Crumbled rocks instead of lofty mountains and where castles had once stood, now there was only barren wasteland. Would that happen once more only this time with ice?

Kyurem moved over toward the green-haired human and said, _"The Ancient Ones are here."_

Ghetsis glanced over at the tall screens lining the side of the room where flickering gray images showed other areas of the Plasma Frigate. Ghetsis was staring intently at one image that displayed a man with a Pikachu who was making his way down the halls. Whenever he encountered one of the Plasma grunts, he either had his Pokemon attack or he himself rendered the human's unconscious with one fluid sweep of his fighting stick. In yet another screne, Kyurem noticed a young man dressed in traditional Celesta wear who was closely followed by a Lucario. 'I'm well aware,' Ghetsis thought. 'We haven't much time before a full-on attack from them.'

_"Do you not think it wise to first speak with them?"_ Kyurem asked. _"Having seen firsthand the destruction the Ancient Ones can cause; it would be in Unova's best interest to avoid such conflict."_

'The Celestas won't listen to Team Plasma,' Ghetsis replied simply. 'I… Team Plasma… has violated too many of their rules and attacked one of their royalty. They will accept nothing less than a surrender, and I will not tolerate that. We will fight until there is a victor no matter the costs.'

Kyurem could almost smell the stench of the burned shrubbery and hear the terrified cries of Pokemon and humans equally as their homes were destroyed and their own flesh eaten by the flames. Kyurem vaguely recalled the brothers saying something along the same lines before they began to fight. Both so arrogantly convinced they were correct that they disregarded the well-being of their own subjects. Yet ironically, both claimed they were fighting for the sake of those long dead citizens.

Kyurem cocked his head slightly as he studied the human's determined expression. This man was well-aware of the imminent calamity awaiting Unova by engaging the Ancient Ones in warfare, yet he didn't seem to care. Kyurem wondered if deep down the human understood what he was doing was wrong and simply chose to ignore those feelings. Kyurem shook his head slightly; he had already decided he would fight with Ghetsis. He reminded himself that if this fight were to lead to Unova's destruction, he would continue to exist as an immortal deity now reinfused with his brother and sister. He would rather live as the dominant conscious than the submissive lower one despite the destruction they might cause to the Region.

'It's time Kyurem,' Ghetsis thought as he brought out a long piece of metal that looked like the end of a knife layered in differing shades of blue. 'These are the DNA splicers. They're what will infuse you and your siblings together once more.' Ghetsis clicked the top of the mechanism which caused the metal to disintegrate until there was only an odd blue energy field that vaguely reminded Kyurem of the twisting strands of DNA contained within living beings. The blue energy field encompassed Kyurem, and he felt the odd almost uncomfortable feeling of his own essence contained within his cells begin to soften and become malleable.

Ghetsis accessed the power of the Ancient Ones as his cane began to glow a purplish hue that contained the auras of Kyurem, Reshiram and Zekrom. The light and dark stones levitated next to Kyurem where he could hear his brother and sister's voices crying out in confusion. The blue light intensified until it completely consumed Kyurem causing him to cry out in pain as hot liquid fire burned through his veins, and tingles of electricity swept through his tissue. The loud conscious of both Reshiram and Zekrom pressed inside Kyurem's mind which seemed to rip him apart as the three fought for dominance. However, Kyurem's close connection with the Ancient One's power made it possible to shove the voices of both Reshiram and Zekrom down to a deeper recess of consciousness until they finally became quiet.

Kyurem opened his eyes to see that he was once again in his elegant Tao form with his slender body now a uniform gray with the occasional highlight of black or white. His gray wings protruding from his back were a combination of Reshiram's feathery frill with the jagged edge of Zekrom's. His tail now the familiar combination of the Zekrom's turbine at the base, with the fiery tips of Reshiram's, and the blue highlight's of Kyurem's old body.

Kyurem turned to Ghetsis who was staring at him with an almost giddy expression as his one red eye roved over Kyurem's original form. 'Now we're ready to face the Celestas.' Ghetsis said turning back to his monitors. 'They'll have to fight the combined three patron gods rather than one if they are to stop me.'

* * *

"N!" I yelled desperately as I ran to the clear glass wall of the cell the Shadow Triad had shoved me and Cheren in. N was outside and currently screaming in pain while writhing at the feet of the Shadow Triad, but unlike when they were torturing him back in Colress' lab, his screams now felt more… unnatural and agonizing. "Stop it! Stop torturing him!"

The Triad in the middle of the trio said calmly, "We're doing nothing to him. Master is simply using him for his own purposes."

I kicked the thick glass wall and banged my fists against the wall, "Don't you see how messed up this is you bastards! Your 'Master' is an insane megalomaniac that's willing to torture his own son, and for what? So that he can rule a ruined Region? What the Distortion World is wrong with you where you're willing to follow a psychotic fu-"

One of the Shadow Triad members teleported into my cell and roughly shoved me up against the wall which made my head viciously smash against the hard metal causing my vision to temporarily blacken. "Do not insult our Master. Besides, you two should be more concerned about your own well-being rather than Master's brat." The Triad tightened his grip around my neck causing me to desperately gasp for air as he brought out one of his daggers. "After all, he's not the one about to slowly have a layer of skin carved off."

Cheren tried to attack the Triad from behind, but the Triad smashed his elbow against Cheren's face without loosening his grip on me. I couldn't even scream Cheren's name as he fell to the floor with blood spurting out of his broken nose.

"Katashi," one of the Triad members outside of the cell said calmly. "Now isn't the time to torture for pleasure. Interrogate them on the location of their associates and report to us as soon as you find out."

With that, the two Triads teleported away, but not before dumping a still suffering N into the cell across from us so that he had a clear view of what Katashi was doing to us. To my surprise, Katashi also teleported me to the opposite cell and roughly threw me to the ground so that I crashed into N. It was a little disorientating to suddenly be seeing Cheren across from me facing down a Shadow Triad by himself.

"I won't tell you anything," Cheren hissed at Katashi while glaring at him defiantly. "You can torture me all you want, but I will never say a word."

"You won't need to," Katashi said callously as he rammed his foot into Cheren's chest and sent him rolling across the cell. The Triad brought out both his knives and knelt on top of Cheren while sliding the tip of his knife on his face. I stared in abject horror as Katashi began to carve ferociously into my friend's flesh and the screams that filled the holding center felt like they couldn't possibly be happening.

I wanted to turn from the carnage in front of me, but for some inexplicable reason, I felt frozen in place and could only stare transfixed. My mind couldn't fully comprehend that a man was currently breaking Cheren's fingers or strategically placing cuts that avoided major arteries. All I knew was that my face was wet with tears and that there was nothing I could do to stop Katashi from hurting Cheren.

As the floor of the cell began to fill with Cheren's scarlet blood, Katashi hissed loud enough for me to hear, "So where are your little friends? Are they going to the control room? There's a radio there to call for help. Will they call the League? Are they looking for an escape exit? Will they crash the ship?" I felt my breath quicken as my hands tightened into fists.

"Go… to the… Distortion World," Cheren sobbed between screams.

"How will they destroy the frigate? Will they attempt to manually force the ship down… or will they sabotage the engines?" My heart began racing and I felt my palms become sweaty as I shifted uncomfortably. "So… the engines."

"You're wrong," Cheren gasped. "They already escaped off the frigate. We decided it was too dangerous to all go together. They're going to contact the League to help us."

"Liar," Katashi said smugly. "We would've seen them if they tried to escape. Besides, you and Ivory have already told me exactly where they are. The engines."

How on earth could he possibly know where Black and Bianca were headed? "Cheren isn't lying," I said quickly, "they're trying to escape the frigate."

Katashi chuckled, "Both of you are far too easy to read. Your expressions told me everything." Katashi then turned to look at me with heartless black eyes, "Would you prefer I bring your friends back so you can say goodbye to them for one last time, or would you rather I slit their throats in the engine room."

"You'll never find them in time," I yelled. "They'll destroy the engines before you even get there."

"Why, thank you for confirming that they're in the engine room, Ivory," Katashi said bitingly. "Don't worry, I'll give them quick deaths unlike yours."

Shame at my own stupidity shot through me, and I angrily banged my fists against the glass, "You won't get the chance to kill them. They'll stop you before you get anywhere near them."

Katashi laughed mirthlessly, "You're so naïve. Much like our little king was when he first came." I glanced over at N who had stopped screaming some time during Cheren's torture. He was now back to fetal positing with his head pressed against his knees and his hands covering his ears so that he couldn't hear Cheren suffering. "Thought he could resist all forms of torture and had no concept of what real death was like. Now look at him. Pathetic, isn't he?"

I glowered at Katashi and said, "You'll pay for every Arceus damn thing you did to N. Monsters like you will always-"

"We'll always what?" Katashi asked snidely. "Get our comeuppance? Life doesn't work like that. Everyone dies no matter if they're good or bad, and it can end," Katashi then took Cheren's head in his hands and I caught a glimpse of the angry, bloody lines from where Katashi had cut him. Then in one fluid motion, Katashi twisted Cheren's head so that I could hear a snap, "In a moment's notice."

I felt my entire body freeze as if ice had shot through my veins. I covered my mouth and felt as if my limbs were slowly shutting down effectively immobilizing me. No. No. No. No. I shook my head in horror as the Triad member cackled at my reaction before teleporting away. Cheren. No. No, he can't be dead. No. No, we'll… we'll save him. We… we… they have medical equipment… I have to do something. I… I… no… Cheren.

It was strange, it felt like my body was paralyzed, yet I had managed to scream Cheren's name hysterically while pounding my fists against the glass till the skin tore and my knuckles were splattered in blood. I barely registered N taking a hold of my hands or the whispered condolences. Sobs racked my body, and I found myself curled in N's lap and sobbing into his shoulder as he rocked me back and forth.

It was only until N began gently singing a simple song that I finally calmed down. The melody was soft and melancholic while the words spoke of goodbyes with the promise of returns, but that's not what caught my attention. N himself sounded so… beautiful. I had always thought his voice had sounded melodic but hearing him really sing was something else entirely. It sounded otherworldly and I honestly could never describe it aside from a few things—the gentle chimes blowing in the wind, the rushing of a river, the strings of a symphony… no. None of them held a candle with how N could sing.

I felt inexplicably calmer despite the aching pit I felt inside me from seeing Cheren murdered in front of me. The terror I felt at what might happen to Bianca and Black faded as N continued the song making me almost forget that I was on the Plasma Frigate. It was just me and him with his fingers dancing through my hair and lightly touching my cheek. "Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you for singing that for me."

"My mother used to sing it for me whenever I had nightmares," N said quietly while gently kissing my head. "She used to say that… that it was a song passed down from generations. That whenever I sang it, I'd be able to find the strength and love from all my ancestors who were there to help me and guide me. After she died, Concordia and Anthea used to sing it for me every night in Discordian Wood. I used to imagine that my mother would be there with them singing as a spirit in the Hall of Origin."

I felt as if my heart had already been torn in half by what happened to Cheren, but hearing N say that… well, he just sounded so… so… lonely. An odd understanding came over me of just how alone and hurt N really was at this moment. Despite N and I being the best of friends when we were kids, I was only there at most for two hours a day while he spent the rest with his sisters. Sisters who were always worried about him, sisters that knew he was in danger, and sisters that had to fight every day for survival. He had no one to really laugh with or play with outside of myself. It almost hurt to realize that N was probably happiest with Team Plasma. They gave him a goal, they gave him a family and a home, they gave him a purpose. Then to have that all ripped out from beneath him. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have the people you thought loved you and that you loved in return turn out to be your worst enemies.

N hugged me tightly and whispered that he loved me and that's when the final understanding fell into place. He felt bad for what had happened to Cheren and for the hurt I was suffering, but from his perspective, he thought… no. He knew that I was going to die. What was happening right here and right now was N's way of saying goodbye to me forever. I didn't think I could be any sadder after Cheren, but feeling and understanding N's hopelessness and utter despair was almost unbearable.

"N," I whispered and shifted in his lap so that I was looking him in the eye, "you know what you were saying about… about your ancestors looking after you. That's true. You have a family outside of Ghetsis and Team Plasma. The Celestas are your family, and they've been looking for you ever since they found out you exist. Your mom was one which makes you one as well. Me, Black, Bianca, and… Cheren…" I swallowed the lump in my throat and fought back the tears as I said his name before shakily continuing, "They're the ones we're working with to free you. They won't stop until they've found you."

N looked away from me when I said this, "I… know that I'm a Celesta. Dr. Colress made that more than clear to me. But… I… I'm not a real Celesta either. I wasn't born or raised as one, my father's human and probably the main reason I was born in the first place, and I've never met another Celesta or-"

"Hey," I said gently while pressing a finger against his lips to silence him. "That's not what makes a family. Some people are lucky enough to be born to good parents that make a family work, but a lot of people have to make their own." I stroked the side of his face before adding, "You and I are family. So are Bianca, Black, and… Cheren because I have to believe he's here right now looking after us in the Hall of Origin just like your mom is. And you know what, even though the Celestas don't know you, I bet they want to be your family too."

I shifted my position on his lap so that I was straddling his waist and I tenderly placed my hands on his face before locking my eyes on his. "Besides, if the Celestas do turn out to be a bunch of jerks, I promise that you'll always have me. No matter what, I'll be right there beside you."

In that moment, I felt something stir inside me as I looked deeply into his eyes and was reminded of that old saying that eyes were the windows to the soul. I saw his pain, his hurt, but I felt something… deeper… a little more powerful and very, very intense. I almost felt like a little girl again curled underneath my blankets whispering to Nightstar about how much I loved him, how much I wanted to be his best friend forever, how much… I… wanted to understand him. I oddly thought about what Nightstar had been thinking during this time. I'd always thought that Nightstar had been saying the same things back to me as a little girl, but now I wondered… was Nightstar instead promising me that he would love me, that he would be my friend, that he would always understand me. Was he making vows while I was imploring him to stay by my side?

"Natural Harmonia, I-"

N broke eye contact and turned away from me, "No." He shook his head and repeated, "No. I won't allow… something like… _that_," the way N emphasized the word that made it seem almost like he was spitting in disgust. I don't know why it hurt so much, but it felt more like poisonous venom eating away at something beautiful than a mere dismissal. "I won't let that happen. They'd kill you the second we did, and I… I," he took my hands in his own. "I don't want to waste a second of whatever time we do have together." And in those lingering moments where that strange connection between us still survived, I almost heard N think to himself that he wasn't worth that kind of love in the first place. Not after everything he'd done.

"N," I started again, but he stubbornly refused to look directly into my eyes again. "N, this is important. One of the Celestas told me-"

A chill swept through me before I heard, "You have quite an interesting way of mourning the death of a friend, Ivory Greystorm." I looked behind me to see one of the Shadow Triad members from earlier standing behind me in our cell. "Or perhaps it's because you know that you'll soon be dead that you decided to finally give into your lust."

My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I realized that I had my legs wrapped around N's waist and that I had been leaning close enough to N that our noses had been brushing slightly. N wasn't helping either since his knees were brought up close to my back with one hand tangled in my long brown hair while the other was much lower down my back.

Before either of us could say anything, the Triad strode forward and roughly yanked my hair before throwing me off N. Pain shot through me as I landed on my back with my left arm skewed beneath it. In the meantime, the Triad roughly grabbed N by his collar and hauled him to his feet. "Master wants you by his side at all times now that he's moved into the final phase of his plan." N fleetingly glanced over at me as I struggled to get to my feet. "Don't worry. You'll see her again. When we have the time to torture her."

"No-" N started, but he was already teleported away leaving me alone with a dead friend while I screamed N's name.

**A/N: So… for anyone who loves Cheren, I'm sorry! Rest assured that I was really sad when writing it too. I didn't want Cheren to die, but since I made this fic much darker than the first, I knew everyone couldn't make it out of this unharmed. I hope that my transition between Cheren dying and Ivory and N having an almost super special moment wasn't too strange or almost cruel. I imagined that Ivory was in shock while N had already accepted what was going to happen long before it happened which was why he looked away.**

**I initially was going to transition over to Black and Bianca mid chapter, but N and Ivory needed a moment together, and B&B's scene can always come in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, please read and review any thoughts or criticism!**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

"This place is huge," Bianca whispered as she and Black took in the expansive room filled with various types of machinery. Large metal cylinders lined the perimeter and occasionally spouted bursts of white vapor while a convoluted mass of pipes webbed across the walls all connecting to an engine consisting of rapidly pumping pistons located at the center of the room. Dozens of Plasma members in blue safety suits and helmets were inspecting the various machinery along with several guards in standard uniform carefully surveying the room. Bianca and Black silently wove past them and came closer to the body of the machine to inspect the engine more closely.

Black shuddered slightly as he noticed that several of the gears being used to power the engine were in fact Klang all forced to compliantly serve as pieces to the machine. "Sick bastards," Black muttered. "To think that these guys used to say they defended Pokemon."

Bianca glanced nervously at a couple of guards eyeing them suspiciously and pulled Black away from the engine to continue circling the room. "What should we do?" Bianca said in a hushed voice. "There are guards literally everywhere. How can we do anything to the engine with them around?"

Black glanced back at the engine and whispered, "I'm not sure… I'll admit I was planning on using our Pokemon to… I don't know… blow up the engine."

"Are you serious?!" Bianca fought to keep her voice low so that the guards couldn't hear her shrill voice. "Black, we're in the engine room and we don't know where any of the escape roots are. We'll just blow ourselves up if we did that. Besides, what if the guards can stop our Pokemon with their Plasma device thing."

Black noticed that two Plasma guards were behind them and quickly gaining on them. "Well, whatever we're going to do, we need to do it quickly. The guards know something's up and if they catch us, it's game over. Any ideas on how we attack the engines?"

Bianca's eyes flitted around the room taking in the various municipal corridors and the large metallic tubes when she noticed one side of the walls had clear glass revealing a room full of Plasma engineers working at long desks with a variety of buttons splayed across them. "Look over there," Bianca whispered subtly nodding her head towards the room. "In ships and airplanes they have navigators and pilots that control the direction and altitude of their planes… if we take out those guys, then Team Plasma would be flying blind and-"

"-hopefully crash into the side of a mountain," Black finished. "It'll give us enough time to get out of here and still take down the Plasma frigate." Black worriedly noticed that the guards had drawn even closer, "Okay, but we have to move fast… and we'll probably have to use our Pokemon anyway."

They quickened their paces and had almost reached the control room when one of the guards said, "Hey, you two. Only authorized personnel can be down here. We need to check your identification."

Black heard the guards pick up their pace causing him to grab Bianca's hand and together they sprinted the short distance between across the engine room and swung the door open after sloppily scanning Black's ID card to open it. Black and Bianca shoved their backs against the door as it slammed shut and braced themselves against it to stop the guards entering as they reached the door and attempted to open it.

This commotion unfortunately caused all the Plasma navigators within the control room to look up from their desks and stare at Black and Bianca before some began nervously radioing in that the intruders were inside the control room while others got up and moved to attack. Black immediately released his Machamp and yelled, "Max, hold this door shut and everyone else, unless you want to get pummeled by Pokemon, I suggest you all shut up and line up on the other side of the room."

The Plasma members hesitated, but when they saw how easily Max could hold the door shut despite the Plasma guards and their Pokemon ramming against the metal frame, they all quietly walked over to the side of the room. One called jeeringly, "This stupid plan of yours will never work! You'll be dead before you can do anything to this frigate."

"Oh really?" Black hissed as he walked over to the long table where various buttons of shapes and sizes stood along with green tinted radar monitors displaying images of surrounding objects. He pressed one of the random buttons, "Even if I do this… or this," he pressed another button and began smashing a bunch of random buttons.

"What the Distortion World are you doing!?" one of the Plasma navigators cried out. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

A loud creaking and groaning sounded all along the pipes that ran along the ceiling and Black continued, "Yep. That's kind of what I'm doing. It's too bad this frigate doesn't come with a big red self-destruct button. That would make my life easier."

One of the navigators moved forward to try and stop Black, but Bianca quickly sent out Moon and said, "T-Take another step and my Musharna will use hypnosis on you!" She wished her voice didn't sound so squeaky, but given the circumstances, it was the best she could do. The Plasma member backed up against the wall once more while others continued to stare at Black's button smashing with complete dismay.

"I've got another idea," Black said as he moved down a random lever which made all the navigators gasp in horror especially when the frigate began vibrating violently. "Why don't all of you help land this Arceus forsaken ship and radio the League instead. We could cut you all a deal, and well…" Black then smashed a few more buttons which caused the frigate to lurch to the side, "it beats dying. So, what do you say?"

"And go up against Lord Ghetsis?" one of the Plasma members said in disbelief. "We're dead no matter what we do!"

Bianca nervously watched Black continue banging on the control panel when she noticed Moon began to shiver slightly and Max press one of his hands against his head in confusion and pain. "Black… I-I think t-the Pokemon are acting up. I-" her body stiffened when she glanced over at Black and saw one of the Triad members with his long, mangy white hair and dagger poised in position right over Black's heart while Black himself was completely unaware of the danger. Bianca gave a garbled scream as the Triad moved to plunge the dagger into Black. Without realizing what she was doing, Bianca lunged towards the Triad and roughly shoved him away from Black, but she wasn't in time to stop the Triad from sinking his blade into Black's back and slashing him all down his spine as the Triad fell from Bianca's impact.

Black screamed in pain as he collapsed to the floor and Bianca was backhanded by Max who had left the door allowing the Plasma guards to rush inside. The impact of the hit caused Bianca to fly across the room and roughly smash against the far wall where she painfully landed in a pile of tools which tore her uniform and sliced her skin. Bianca groggily looked across the room to see Black's Machamp and Moon standing or floating motionlessly as the Triad reappeared beside Black and bent down to finish the job.

In a rush of adrenaline, Bianca scrambled to her feet while grabbing the heaviest object next to her and rushing forward before squarely smashing a flashing monitor proceeded by another control panel. She continued madly smashing while the Plasma members screamed at her to stop. One navigator rushed at her to stop her from destroying another monitor when the entire frigate lurched dangerously forward sending everyone—including Pokemon—toppling to the ground only this time the frigate did not regain its balance.

Gravity pushed Bianca against one of the navigation desks as the Plasma navigators all returned to their positions with difficulty as they all began desperately trying to remedy the damage. "It's no good," one of the navigator's said, "She's short-circuited the navigation system as well as the engines. The frigate is going to crash into the Giant Chasm, and we can't fix the controls in time before we make impact. We'll have to abandon ship."

Bianca hardly noticed the mass exodus of Plasma members or the blaring alarm sounding overhead. She didn't even notice the panicked look of the Shadow Triad as he muttered 'Master' and teleported away. All she could see was Black lying still with a trail of red blood slicked across the metallic floor from where his body had moved after the frigate lost control. "Black!" Bianca screamed while tears blurred her vision. She shakily moved toward him while trying to ignore the plummeting sensation in her gut as the frigate rapidly lost altitude. "Black!" Bianca repeated when she didn't get a response. "Hilbert!" she finally sobbed as she knelt next to Black and shook him. She anxiously slid her hand against his neck and relief flooded through her as she felt a faint, erratically beating pulse.

Bianca cradled Black against her as the frigate continued its descent. She swallowed her tears as she grew warm from Black's blood seeping against her uniform and she tenderly hugged him tightly. If she was going to die, this would be the way to go.

She closed her eyes and pressed her head against Black's forehead when she heard a, "Pika pika!" Bianca's eyes flew open and she saw a bright yellow Pikachu looking at her worriedly.

"Oh thank Arceus you're alright," a voice called from the open door. Bianca looked up and saw a young man with spikey black hair, a trainer's cap, and blue jacket pulling against one of the navigation desks for support. Next to him was a Gallade that Bianca recognized as Eichi from earlier… that evening… was that really when all this insanity started? The young man agilely moved towards her and Black while saying, "When Riley sensed you in the engine room, I didn't know if I could make it before you… well… before the Shadow Triad got to you." He glanced around the control room and continued, "But I must say that I'm impressed that you took down the engines."

Bianca wordlessly shook her head while tears streamed down her cheek. She wanted to scream at the young man that it wasn't alright. Black was hurt. Arceus knows what was happening with Ivory and Cheren. She wanted to break down sobbing—do anything, but she couldn't say a word.

Eichi seemed to sense this and said reassuringly, "Your friend is not dead. There is still time to save him."

Before Bianca could ask for clarification, the young man gingerly rolled Black to his side and pressed his hand against his back which then began to glow lightly. Black coughed and convulsed slightly as the young man finished healing him. He slowly opened his eyes and stared momentarily at the man in front of him before whispering, "Y-You're Yellow." He smiled weakly and glanced up at Bianca before whispering, "Thanks. Thanks for saving me and," he coughed slightly before continuing, "thanks for being a total badass and bringing the frigate down. That was awesome."

Bianca sobbed and laughed at the same time in relief, "I thought I'd lost you Black. I'm so happy that-"

"I don't mean to be rude by cutting this touching moment short," Yellow said after he returned Moon and Max back to their pokeballs and given them back to their respective trainers, "but we're still on a crashing frigate and we need to get out of here as soon as possible. Eichi, if you will."

The Gallade immediately stepped towards the four figures and in a flash, Bianca found herself outside with the fresh smell of pine trees and freshly fallen snow. She noticed that the first signs of day were flitting across the gray clouds in streaks of pink and orange and that they were in a glade of some sorts with sloping hills blanketed in evergreens frosted with snow that led up to the more jagged mountains. Overhead was the Plasma frigate descending ever faster towards the valley with dozens of flying type Pokemon furiously flying away as fast as they could.

"We did it," Black said in relief before he turned to Yellow and anxiously asked, "What about Ivory and Cheren and N? Are they okay? Did they get off?"

Yellow stared solemnly at the falling frigate and said, "Riley will try everything in his power to get them off, but… something feels wrong. I can't explain it aside from a feeling of… imbalance." Yellow shook his head and turned to Bianca and Black, "I have to go to his Majesty to help him finish off whatever remains of Team Plasma. You two have done wonderfully. I'll have Eichi return you home."

"Not without my sister and Cheren," Black said forcefully. "There's no way in the Distortion World you're going to send me home without them with me."

Despite the terror coursing through her veins, Bianca also said shakily, "Th-that goes for me too. I have to know they're okay."

Yellow studied them for a minute before nodding and saying, "Alright. Stay close to me, Eichi, and Storm. I have a feeling this is about to get even more messy."

* * *

I braced myself against the side of the cell as the ship plummeted downward and couldn't help but smile. They'd done it. Bianca and Black had come through unlike me and Cheren, but I couldn't help but worry… had the Triad killed them anyway? I shook my head. It didn't matter. The frigate was about to crash, and I sincerely doubted I'd make it out of this cell alive. Certainly there was no safety gear in a cell in case of emergencies like this one.

"They did it, Cheren," I called to the other cell while ignoring the obvious lack of response. "Things are going to be better now… everything's going to be okay. After this… after this we'll all head back to Nuvema Town and have a big celebration for neo Team Plasma's literal downfall. What will you do there, Cheren? I know, you'll tell us all how brilliant you were on your undercover missions. You'll tell us stories of you and Black. You'll say that he was a good friend… unlike me… and I'll… I'll… I'll tell you I'm sorry for not being a better friend, Cheren. I'll tell you I'm sorry for not keeping better contact. I'm… I'm sorry Cheren. I wish I had been a better friend… this is all my fault… I'm sorry. If… if… oh Arceus."

I listened to the blare of alarms overhead and wiped my tears as I stared at the blank white wall in front of me. At least this would be over soon. I continued speaking to Cheren, "At least I'll see you again… at least I can tell you I'm sorry. Maybe… maybe then you and I can watch over Black, Bianca, and… and N. I… I hope they all live to be old and have kids. They'll tell them about us you know Cheren. That way they'll never forget us." I started sobbing at this point, "Black will be a Pokemon Master and Bianca will be a Professor and finally tell Black how she feels about him. N… N… N will be with his family. He'll be so happy. He'll get all the happiness he never got before. And he'll know that I love him, and that I would have done anything for him."

I buried my head into my knees and imagined that I was being hugged… hugged by my parents and brother, hugged by Bianca, hugged by Cheren… hugged by N. I imagined them all with me because I didn't want to die alone. "I'm sorry," I whispered, "I love you all. Thank you for being my friends and family. Thank you for loving me."

"Ivory," I heard someone call to me. I looked up and saw the familiar old-fashioned attire, black hair, and blue eyes of Riley. He had his hand splayed against the glass and his feet spread wide apart in order to stand due to the frigates tilted angle. Beside him was Luke, but Luke was staring at the other cell where there were streaks of red like someone had mopped the floor with red paint. Riley's gaze was focused on mine as he said, "We have to get you out of here."

"How did you…?" I rasped, but I didn't have the strength to finish.

"I was following N's aura when I came to yours… it seems that I just missed him when the frigate started malfunctioning and dropping altitude," Riley explained. He glanced upwards and said, "N's aura is… masked with another stronger one. It's harder to follow, but I doubt Ghetsis will let him come in harm's way from the crash. I'll find him after the frigate is back on the ground. In the meantime, let's get you out of here."

"Cheren…"

Riley pursed his lips, "My sincerest condolences, Ivory. I pray that Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie can guide his soul to the Hall of Origin… and I pray that you will forgive me when I say that we will have to wait for a proper burial until after Team Plasma's been dealt with."

I knew it made logical sense, but it still hurt since I knew what Riley was really saying was that we'd have to leave Cheren's body on the frigate while we escaped. I knew it made sense, but I… I didn't want him to be alone. Not here of all places. He needed to be with his family. "Cheren…"

Luke generated a blue field of energy around me while Riley smashed the glass of my cell with a blue sphere of energy. I was numbly aware that Riley scooped me up in his arm and ran through the metallic halls where Plasma grunts swarmed the halls in mass panic. We followed the crowd to the top of the frigate where the Plasma members were releasing their flying type Pokemon and scrambling onto them to flee the falling frigate. All of it seemed a blur.

"I need you to stay focused Ivory," Riley said calmly as he ran to the side of the frigate. "There will be a time to mourn, but for now, I need you to fight and to stay strong. The worst is yet to come."

It was at this point that I noticed that we were nearing the tree line of an enormous valley that looked like a crater of some sort. Riley was standing on the rim of the frigate and staring intently down at the fast-approaching snowy ground. I didn't know how I could be strong. Nightstar wasn't with me, Bianca wasn't there for me to defend, N was missing again. How… how… I fought back tears and thought about Cheren. I could be brave for him. I wouldn't let him die in vain. I'd find N again and somehow get through to Nightstar again. I'd see Mom and Dad again. I had to believe that. I had to be strong for them.

When Riley saw that I'd calmed down, he set me down next to him and I asked, "How are we going to get out of here?"

Riley smiled slightly, "The same way I did last time." With that, Riley grabbed my hand and all three of us leapt from the crashing frigate and the wind ripped through my hair as we fell towards the icy ground.

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update! It's all been action scenes and I get so flustered when writing it. Like, how much action before it becomes over the top? So many obvious plot holes and deus ex machinas! Anyway, I wanted to have more scenes with Riley and Yellow to show that they were on their way and they didn't show up randomly, but… well… it just didn't flow well.**

**For those wondering in last chapter why I didn't have Ghetsis fuse Kyurem in the cave like the games, 1- I'm obviously not following the plot of the games… so yeah 2- I really do love that scene, but since Bianca and Black were meant to crash the frigate, I didn't see Ghetsis having time to fuse Kyurem outside of being on the frigate.**


	34. Chapter 34

I don't know quite what I was expecting when we jumped off the frigate and fell towards the crumbling rocks and pine trees below us—maybe the feel of the rushing wind on my face, the howl of the wind, sheer panic at the fact that I was plummeting to the ground, but the last thing I thought would happen was for us to fall through a golden ring that magically appeared beneath us and suddenly land upright in a glade with the sun shining brightly above us. It was warm and looked to be about midday here and there were several exotic Pokemon dotting the perimeter of the thicket ranging from humming Kricketune to dozens of Starly and Parchirisu chattering in the branches of the trees.

"I certainly hope you falling from flying ships doesn't become a habit," a sing-songy voice sounded from behind us and I whipped around to see a kid that looked to be about my age with black hair and stormy blue eyes. Next to him was a girl that seemed slightly older with long, silvery hair, the same blue eyes, but what really caught my attention was that they were both glowing with different shades of aura and that they were surrounded by demigods. The dark shadowy figure of Darkrai hovered near one with Cresselia floating next to him. Then there was Hoopa, who must have been the one who conjured that weird hoop we fell through, was nestled on top of the girl's head. The boy continued, "This has already happened twice in one day."

Riley visibly relaxed and replied, "Oh yes. I'm sure I'll make a habit out of falling from humanmade flying ships that use the power of the gods to destroy entire cities. Expect this to happen often."

"We must return to the Giant Chasm as soon as we can," Luke said briskly. "Team Plasma is still in possession of Kyurem and N Harmonia. Even without their vessel, they're still capable of destroying the Unova Region."

"They also have this device that can control all Pokemon," I blurted out without thinking. I blushed slightly when I saw all eyes turn to me, but I continued, "There's this guy, Colress, he has it and it's so strong that it can control Whisperer's Pokemon. You can't just send in a bunch of Pokemon or they'll all be mind-controlled."

The girl bit her lip worriedly and said, "The king also is unable to connect to Kyurem's heart. He says that Kyurem's already been tainted with the influence of other royalty which means Team Plasma is now using N's powers."

"That and this device that they have can now influence Whisperer's bonded Pokemon which is something only a royalty should be capable of doing," the boy said darkly, "so, we'll be facing authentic royal Celesta power along with an artificial one plus the power of a god… great. I can see this being an easy battle."

"Either way, we are already in position and neither the device nor N Harmonia can influence the Celestas since none of them recognize N as their alpha. We'll send you to where the king is after you've been healed," the girl said as a couple of Shaymin in flying form descended towards us and released a sweet-smelling aroma that encompassed the three of us. Almost immediately I felt revitalized as a surge of energy shot through me faster and stronger than a cup of cappuccino. It felt like I'd just gotten up for the day instead of being up for more than twenty-four hours.

When the smell had dissipated, I was shocked to find myself being psychically lifted from the ground and being placed on Cresselia's back. "Wait, what?"

"Well seeing as you don't have a flying type Pokemon, Cresselia decided that you could ride her back to Unova in style," the boy said simply before turning to Riley who was boarding his Staraptor and saying, "I think I have an idea of how to subvert the device. Siesta and Hulum are still with you right?"

"Yes, are you sure that's the best idea though Barrion?" Riley asked worriedly. "You'll be surrounded by enemies."

"I know," Barrion said calmly as Darkrai slunk down to the earth in an inky pool of darkness before slipping beneath Barrion and rematerializing so that Barrion could ride him. "It's risky, but I trust you'll have my back… that is, if you don't happen to fall off another flying object."

Riley rolled his eyes, "That won't be a problem. I'm more worried about you being frozen solid by Kyurem."

"Oh dear. I guess that goes against my plan to stand directly in front of Kyurem," Barrion said teasingly as we started to speed up into the clear blue sky where another ring had formed. "You know how I love to put myself in mortal danger just to freak you out."

'Oh my Arceus. He's just like my brother,' I thought with a shake of my head as Riley shot a glare over at Barrion. I didn't have time to think more about this as we entered through Hoopa's ring and back to the cold, biting wind of Unova.

Below us was the Giant Chasm with the pines dotting the ground like green daggers with white snow lacing on top of them. More importantly, there was now a mass of flying type Pokemon filling the sky. Most of them had Plasma members riding on top of them, but there were several that didn't and were simply obediently following the mass swarm of Pokemon to the crashed Plasma Frigate. There was a strip of uprooted and splintered trees along with heaps of dirt piled to the side showing the path where the frigate had landed. The ship itself was resting on its side with its white sails now shredded and the mass completely torn away.

"Has Ava unbound Hoopa yet?" a melodic voice asked as several exotic Pokemon came up beside us. I recognized Red's Charizard immediately along with Red riding on top of him… I mean, who wouldn't recognize him? Then there was a Salamence with a young woman in a red outfit and long black hair spilling behind her who I recognized as Pearl, and then there was a young man in orange with a white beanie for his hat riding on a Flygon… I'll admit I didn't recognize him as I wasn't as into knowing the Pokemon Masters as Black was. Then flying on her Hydreigon was Iris herself, and the man who had addressed Barrion was a man with wavy blond hair, gray-blue eyes, with a silvery aura about him and riding on top of a Garchomp.

Barrion respectfully said, "Yes. She unbound Hoopa right after we left."

"Good. We'll need the gods for this battle. Kyurem's mind is starting to reflect Ghetsis Harmonia's mind more and more the longer he's been exposed to Celesta power. I can also hear Reshiram and Zekrom's voices, but they are… quiet… subdued." The man then stopped talking all together, but he and Barrion kept eye contact and I felt they were having a private conversation.

Barrion clearly looked worried by whatever the man had told him, and as he broke eye contact, his eyes flickered over to me doubtfully. "I understand," Barrion replied. He then looked back to the man who nodded curtly to whatever Barrion had said psychically. Barrion then branched off on Darkrai and disappeared through yet another golden hoop.

I nervously gripped the pink appendages of Cresselia as we sped ever closer to the fallen frigate. I tried to reassure myself that everything would be okay now that the Pokemon Masters and Celestas were here, but nothing could stop the growing sense of dread that seemed to overwhelm me.

* * *

Bianca tightly gripped Black's hand as they broke through the thick underbrush and followed Yellow out to the field where the Plasma Frigate had landed. Enormous trees were bent and contorted with their thick trunks now obliterated from the impact. Scattered along the ground were a variety of branches, rocks, dirt, and more disturbingly, the still bodies of a few Pokemon who hadn't had time to escape the frigate. Overhead, there were swarms of flying type Pokemon that seemed to blacken out the morning sky.

Yellow marched towards the fallen frigate with Black and Bianca picking their way through the debris behind him. "Stay close to me," Yellow called to them as he brought out his fighting stick with one fluid movement. "Team Plasma certainly isn't finished, and His Majesty wants us to make sure the frigate is completely inoperable. If we could find their head scientist and stop their device, that would be a definite plus."

They had made it halfway through the ruined clearing towards the frigate when a sudden chill seemed to crush the entire area like standing beneath an icy waterfall. Yellow stopped and carefully studied the thicket around them and saw amidst the thick undergrowth dozens of eyes peering intently at them. Countless Pokemon emerged from the destroyed forest and completely surrounded Yellow, Black, and Bianca.

Dozens of flying type Pokemon landed beside them where Plasma members slid off and brought out their own pokeballs. Black and Bianca recognized the red hair of Alex and Jenna sliding off their Dragonites while Bianca felt a coldness completely unrelated to the temperature when she saw Rosa glowering at them from her Flygon. There were others as well, several of the Sages, a few of the navigators they'd run into in the engine room, and Colress himself descending on top of his Magnezone. But what caught their attention the most was a large gray beast that landed in front of them, and on top of the creature was none other than Ghetsis Harmonia himself.

Ghetsis was gripping some sort of cane that was glowing an eerie violet shade which he seemed to use to levitate himself and smoothly lower himself to the side of the gray creature. Teleporting just behind Ghetsis was the Shadow Triad, one of which had N with them who currently had his hands tied behind his back and was gagged.

Ghetsis glanced at Yellow's fighting stick which he held defensively as he moved protectively in front of Black and Bianca. "So, you came," Ghetsis said smoothly. "The Celestas, but you seem to be nothing more than one of their lackeys." Ghetsis glanced behind Yellow to Black and Bianca, "You two have been a thorn in my side for the longest time, but you seem to have forgotten what nearly happened the last time you went against me. It'll be my greatest pleasure to finish the job and finally have you eliminated. And as for you," Ghetsis then shifted his gaze back to Yellow, "before you die, tell your alpha that if he comes against me and Team Plasma, I'll have Kyurem cover all of Unova with ice just as he will to you three." With that Ghetsis pointed his cane at them which glowed an even brighter shade of violet as he roared, "KYUREM! GLACIATE!"

Kyurem roared and opened its mouth while generating a ball of bright light and icy energy which he then shot directly towards them. Bianca instinctively wrapped her arms around Black and buried her head into his chest; she was grateful to feel Black return the hug and even kiss the top of her head. Before the glacial attack hit them, a blast of several intertwining attacks countered it with such force that it stopped the glaciate all together until it dissipated with an explosion that caused thick smoke to consume the clearing.

Black lifted his head and even though he couldn't see anything aside from the acrid, gray smoke, he could hear the beating wings of several Pokemon along with the thud as they landed. When the smoke had cleared, they could see the Pokemon Masters riding on top of their various Pokemon along with Ivory on a hovering blue, pink, and yellow Pokemon along with Riley and Luke on a Staraptor. Standing in front of them all was the Champion of the Unova Region and the King of Celestas.

Iris stepped forward—fury etched on her face and her fists shaking slightly from rage—and yelled, "You've destroyed an entire city, Harmonia. You and your damned organization have overrun this Region and ruined it, but I will never let you take it all for yourself. I won't see my home wrecked any more than you already have, you bastard." She then took a shuddering breath and added, "But I'll give you just one chance. Surrender or your entire organization-"

"I don't mean to be rude, dear Iris," Ghetsis calmly interjected, "but you are completely irrelevant in this conversation seeing as I could have you eliminated at any second. You have no authority here." Ghetsis then looked to the man who had been silently watching the interaction between the two humans and continued, "The only one I'll speak with is him—Jonathon was it."

Jonathon smiled darkly before saying, "Oh but if we're negotiating based on power and authority, then I have nothing to say seeing as you've gagged the one person I would speak to." Jonathon glanced over at N who quickly averted his eyes in shame. "What I say is the same as Iris. You threatened to cover Unova in ice if we interfere with your egotistical quest for power and dominance but are you truly arrogant enough to think you stand a chance against us. Perhaps you know of our ways and our abilities, but you have never learned to wield the power of the Celestas. You won't win against us and I suggest you surrender for your sake. Only it won't be human punishment you face, Ghetsis Harmonia, it'll be ours."

Ghetsis smirked, "This isn't about winning a battle, and I'm fairly certain you already know that. It's about how far you're willing to take this fight—how many human and Pokemon lives you're willing to have die in this conflict. I'm willing to see Unova destroyed just as your ancestors wiped out the Region in the past. Are you willing to do the same?"

"You will never get the chance to do so," Jonathon said calmly as golden rings filled the sky allowing countless Celesta Pokemon to pour through. Immediately the Pokemon Masters and the others shot into the air while Jonathon continued, "If you won't surrender, then we won't stop until there's nothing that remains of Team Plasma." He then stepped back into the golden hoop that had appeared behind him and he disappeared as the hoop closed.

The wild Unovan Pokemon sprung into action, each of them firing blasts of energy into the sky in an attempt to hit one of the Celesta Pokemon, but they easily dodged them by disappearing through a golden ring only to reappear moments later near a wild Pokemon with an attack charged and ready. More rings appeared on the perimeter allowing Luxrays, Lopunnies, and a whole variety of Sinnoh Pokemon to all come through and begin attacking the Plasma members themselves who had thrown out their own Pokemon to counter them. However, the Celesta Pokemon were vastly outnumbered by the native Pokemon and soon the vicious fighting began to escalate as numerous bursts of energy destroyed the already desecrated forest as well as weaker Pokemon too slow to avoid the attacks. Battle cries of Pokemon echoed through the Giant Chasm and the sound of vicious fighting seemed to reverberate off the rocky sides of the mountain.

Ghetsis turned to Kyurem, 'Kill any and all the Celestas you can, but make sure your attacks cover more than just them. Hit as many areas as you can and try to bring the fighting to human populations.' Kyurem nodded and he too sprung into the air to join the fray. Ghetsis turned back to the Shadow Triad and hissed, "Katashi, Takeo, find and kill the Celesta royalty. If they're gone, the Pokemon will no longer have a leader and they'll lose control of the Legendaries. Kill them, and we win."

"Yes Master," Katashi and Takeo said respectfully as they teleported away.

N shook his head desperately and pulled at Osamu's firm grip. He pleadingly looked at his father, but Ghetsis simply said, "Oh please do you really think they care about you? You're a freak of nature. Neither fully Celesta nor fully human. They see you as nothing more than a mistake to be remedied by either eliminating you or forcing you to fully become one of them. You mean nothing to them." And with those hateful words, Ghetsis turned from N to oversee a battle that he intended to result in the deaths of countless humans and Pokemon.

* * *

The world below me seemed a blur of colors as we sped across the Giant Chasm one second before we entered a hoop and suddenly the entire landscape changed to sunshine, rice paddies, and forests before moving just as quickly back to the icy ruins of the Giant Chasm where Cresselia's body would heat up as she released an attack. From what I could tell, the girl I'd met earlier, who Cresselia had called Lady Ava, was using her psychic abilities along with psychic abilities of a Ninetales, a Xatu, and an Alakazam to foresee where to have Hoopa, who now looked like a colossal monster instead of the cute little creature I'd seen earlier, strategically place his rings. They did this all from Eterna Forest, and it was here that they had the Shaymin working nonstop to produce aroma therapy for the Celesta Pokemon severely injured or who were just too tired to generate any more moves. It was incredible to see how efficient the Celestas were.

The Giant Chasm, though, was a completely different story. Here the wild Unovan Pokemon controlled by Team Plasma were viciously attacking Celestas and they were quickly sacrificed and left to die so that a single blow could hit a Celesta Pokemon. Even though the wild Pokemon were not fighting as strategically as the Celestas were, the sheer volume of wild Pokemon was enough to overwhelm Celesta forces. They were pushing violently against the Celestas and it was clear they were starting to make headway as more and more Celestas were forced to leave and heal.

Luckily, the Pokemon Masters were doing a great job with holding off the Plasma Pokemon. I had seen Red's Charizard easily outmaneuver Jenna's Dragonite while blasting it repeatedly with fire. The others were doing well and Riley was back to fighting in his usual style of jumping from Pokemon to Pokemon, only he was targeting Plasma members themselves as he viciously swung at them and knocked most of them down. He wasn't alone in this endeavor as there was a woman with braided black hair riding around on a Garchomp that was helping and another young man with strawberry blond hair was also helping them. From the way they were attacking, it was clear that they were aiming for Colress who was hovering over the battlefield on his Magnezone staring intently at the fighting Pokemon while fiddling with his device.

But the center of fighting would have to be Kyurem. He had sprung to the air shortly after Ghetsis had refused to surrender and had immediately started attacking. Huge, impenetrable lines of ice laced across the Chasm and dozens of Pokemon lay on the ground incased in crystal ice. Kyurem would also use fire and electric moves… or a combination of all three. This creature was truly terrifying, and it was merciless. It hit everything and everyone regardless of whether that person was with Team Plasma or not. The worst part though was that its attacks had started reaching as far as the outskirts of Lacunosa Town.

Kyurem would have been impossible if it weren't for Ho-Oh and Lugia. The minute Kyurem had started powering an attack, Ho-Oh had appeared from a golden ring—it's iridescent wings glinting in the morning sun causing rainbow light to refract off its feathers—and blasted it with golden fire that had completely consumed Kyurem. This, unfortunately, was nowhere near enough to stop Kyurem and in fact only seemed to infuriate him, but just as Kyurem was about to attack Ho-Oh, it disappeared into a ring and on the opposite side another ring appeared and out burst Lugia with the Celesta King riding on top of it. Ho-Oh and Lugia had been attacking Kyurem ever since, but even then, it wasn't enough to stop Kyurem from attacking and wreaking havoc on the entirety of Giant Chasm.

I couldn't help but wonder about what Ghetsis had said earlier… how he wouldn't stop until he either controlled or destroyed Unova. How far would the Celestas go before they decided it was enough… until they decided it was better for Unovans to live under Ghetsis' shadow than it was to have the Region wiped out completely. How far was I willing to go? It was easy to insist that we keep attacking, but that's because I didn't have anything else. I doubted me or anyone I loved would survive Team Plasma's invasion… even my parents were probably too closely associated with the League to make it out okay. But there were so many people in Unova. How could I make that kind of decision for all of them?

Cresselia seemed to sense my worry and she said telepathically, 'Don't worry, young one. King Jonathon will not allow the humans to move that far along in their plans. Already the Tao Dragon grows weary, and the young prince can only sustain his powers for so long since he has never received proper training from the Celestas. Their powers may seem overwhelming now, but the Celestas know how to endure and win… and think outside the box.'

When she said this, Barrion shot through a golden ring riding along the smoky black figure of Darkrai. However, he hadn't come alone. With him was a swarm of Beautifly and Dustox that swooped towards the wild Pokemon and began generating a green mist that settled over them. The Celesta Pokemon had all evacuated the vicinity through various golden hoops while the Pokemon Masters and a few of the Plasma members remained unaffected since they were high in the sky, but the Plasma members below all started returning their Pokemon and shouting "Sleeping Powder!" and ran into the forest to avoid being hit by the effects. Many of the wild Pokemon avoided the attack, but a large number of them did.

'Lord Barrion needs my assistance,' Cresselia told me as she raced towards the ground until she was hovering above it in the area that Bianca and Black were, 'I'll leave you here, young one.' She glanced at the lone Magikarp that was flopping in front of Black and Bianca, 'You should be safe with them.'

I slid off her and watched as she sped into the green mist where Pokemon all lay on the ground asleep. Barrion rode his Darkrai towards the mist, and then went into it. "Wait a minute! What's he doing?" Black demanded as he watched Barrion wearily flop over in sleep. "Is he crazy!? He'll die out there!"

When the green mist had dissipated more, Riley flew across and released a Drowzee from its master ball who materialized right in front of Barrion. The Drowzee calmly sat down in front of him and then raised its hands and did some… weird hand movements? Magic? I'm not sure. All I know was that its fingers were rapidly moving and that it was moving its arms up and down. Barrion then sat up which was a little creepy since his body still seemed limp and his eyes were closed, but what was even more creepy was when all the sleeping Pokemon got up the same way. Some of them convulsed slightly as if they were terrified while others seemed serene and happy. All of them turned to face the remaining Plasma members who all stood by the fallen frigate.

"Wait a minute," Bianca whispered. "I get it. Drowzee are a little like Musharna in that they can eat dreams, but while Musharna can make dreams visible, Drowzee can actually manipulate a person's dreams. I think he's using the Drowzee to help him navigate his dreams and by doing that he can help Cresselia and Darkrai… I don't know… control the Pokemon in their sleep. So, those Pokemon are no longer listening to Team Plasma because it's really Darkrai and Cresselia."

"Kind of like zombies," Black said.

"How is that in any shape or form like zombies?" I demanded. "They're asleep not dead." I watched as the Pokemon moved to continue fighting the remaining Plasma Pokemon and controlled Pokemon. The movements of the Pokemon seemed slow and sloppy… a bit like zombies I'll admit, but they could still get the job done in spite of their lowered speed and accuracy. It helped that they were rejoined by the Celesta Pokemon which doubled their forces.

"You know," Bianca said—hope brimming in her voice, "I-I think we're going to make it! I think we'll win."

"Aye we'll win," a feminine voice called from below and I realized it was the Magikarp flopping uselessly at our feet that had said this. "Did ya ever doubt that? Especially with me around."

Black stared at the Magikarp for a moment, "Yeah I checked my pokedex and it says that the only move you know is splash and that you're currently at level 5… how are you helping this battle go better?"

"Oi!" the Magikarp yelled indignantly, "Just because I seem like a worthless Pokemon doesn't mean I am. Yeh should never underestimate a Pokemon's potential."

Black rolled his eyes, "Yeah, okay. I can't believe Riley said you'd be a great asset. All you've done is flop there while we've avoided several near-death experiences from the attacks."

"The Tao Dragon's last attack was well above yer head lad. Don't know why yer still having a hissy fit."

Black pointed angrily at a thick crystalline ice formation latched to a tree mere centimeters above Black's head, "How is that well above my head!? Ugh… sorry Magikarp. I just wish we could use our own Pokemon to help."

"Don' worry none too much about it, lad," the Magikarp said calmly. "I'd get frustrated too if I was crippling weak like yeh three are."

"Gee thanks," Black muttered.

I ignored the two and stared at the sky where the Legendaries wheeled above. Streaks of lightning, licks of flames, and piercing ice all came from the gray dragon while Ho-Oh sliced across Kyurem's flank with flames reaching around it as it fell at Kyurem from different angles. Lugia was maintaining a distance, but it never failed to land hit after hit. Unfortunately, Kyurem seemed to be learned these patterns and was starting to hit them more frequently.

I looked down to where Ghetsis was and saw that his cane was glowing even brighter and that he was completely focused on the battle above him. Behind him was a Triad member standing over N who was lying limply on the grass from the overexertion of giving away so much of his energy. Dr. Colress was eagerly watching the scene in front of him and I could almost hear him say something like, 'fascinating,' as he studied the sleeping Pokemon attacking them.

Bianca's scream was what drew me back to where we were. Her eyes were glued to where Barrion was, and I could see why. Behind his sleeping figure was a member of the Shadow Triad with his dagger out and ready. I wanted to scream or do something, but I just watched in abject horror as the Triad plunged the dagger right for Barrion's jugular when a blue light smashed into the Shadow Triad sending him tumbling across the obliterated field. Riley was beside Barrion in an instant and I swear to Arceus Riley literally growled at the Triad like a Pokemon would. The Triad teleported behind Riley in an attempt to stab him, but Riley didn't even look behind him as he swung his fighting stick and hit the Triad square in the jaw. Riley released a Crobat that must have done something to the Triad since he didn't teleport away again, and Riley continued his onslaught. Hit after hit after hit. The Triad tried to lunge at Riley with one of his daggers, but Riley nimbly twirled away from the attack and in one fluid movement, he pressed his fighting stick against the Triad's neck and swiftly twisted it causing the Triad to at last fall to the ground and move no more. Just like Cheren, but this felt like… vindication.

I noticed that something similar was happening with another Triad member who had attempted to make it through a portal. He was trying to attack the strawberry blond Guardian and he actually wasn't doing too badly, but then the raven haired Guardian came up behind the Triad and grabbed his arms to hold him in place as the other Guardian plunged his fighting stick at the Triad's chest. I had to look away from the actual death when it happened, but it didn't stop me from hearing it happen.

I felt like I should be happy that we were really winning, that we were going to defeat Team Plasma, but the closer we got to victory, the sadder I became. I realized I wasn't the only one feeling like this as Magikarp stopped flopping around and instead stared intently over at Ghetsis. Magikarp sighed and said, "It's a tragedy, really."

"What is?" I asked while anxiety seemed to be building inside me. "W-We're winning aren't we."

"Aye. The Celestas are winning, and they decided to do that from the beginning… no matter the cost. But… well lass, some wins hurt more than others," the Magikarp turned to me and I got a chill down my spine because in that moment, this random Magikarp that I'd just met seemed so… old… and… wise. As if she'd seen more than her fair share during her life. She continued, "They hoped they could stop this, but I worry it may be too late for the lad."

I felt cold and clammy as I demanded, "What do you mean?"

The Magikarp sighed and flopped over to look at the battle once more, "The human is so bent on winning that he'll do whatever it takes. Sacrifice anything… even if it's his own son. Ghetsis Harmonia will continue battling until the gods give out. One of em' is immortal, but one of em' isn't. Guess who's not going to make it."

"N," I breathed looking over at N's still figure lying on the ground. I could already hear the strained cries of Kyurem as he struggled to continue the fight. I suddenly realized what the king and Barrion had been talking about when they'd come… they knew about N's power being diverted which means they knew he could die from this. Cresselia had said that N could only sustain his powers for so long, but I had only thought that was until N had fainted. From the looks of it, N had long since passed out from the energy he was using, but Ghetsis was still pushing. He'd push until all of N's energy was gone.

"Aye," the Magikarp then coughed loudly and said, "Too bad there's no one there to help him… that would be great. Just can't think o' no one right now." The Magikarp then coughed loudly again.

In that moment, I felt like a little girl again with a passed out Shinx in her arms and my childhood friend screaming at me for help. The memory so clearly came back to me of when N was first taken, and I'd stood there paralyzed. 'There's nothing you can do,' I heard rumble over and over in my mind. I'd tried to bond with N and that hadn't worked… I'd tried everything to help. I… I felt scared and helpless. Just as I had all those years ago. I again looked at N. What could I do?

'You can either do something or not,' a voice came to my mind. I assumed it was Cresselia speaking, but it oddly sounded like the Magikarp's voice. 'Just remember that all Ghetsis' power comes because he is redirecting N's power. If you could stop that redirection, you could save N. I guess all it is now is whether you're willing to do it. The choice is yours.'

I stood there for a little while longer and remembered what Riley had said about loving a person completely. Loving them whether they loved you back, loving them no matter the risks, loving them at the sake of your own life. My body reacted for me as I sprinted across the field and directly towards Ghetsis. I had no idea what I was doing other than I knew I had to somehow stop him before he killed N.

I ran right up to where Ghetsis was when I was suddenly levitated off my feet so that I was flailing midair. "You honestly think you can stop me, you stupid girl," Ghetsis hissed as he turned to look at me—his red eye glinting malevolently. "You're nothing but an idiotic lovesick girl that doesn't know what's good for her. You think that your love for my son knows no bounds, that it's one for the ages, that you'll always love him?" At this Ghetsis gave a sick twisted laugh, "Love never lasts. It's disappointing and only ends with regrets. No one is worth loving completely. Least of all N."

"You're wrong," I screamed. "N's my best friend and he has been since we were kids. I know him and I don't care if he's made mistakes. We all have, and unlike you I think N's worth loving and worth believing in. I know he can be better than he is now." In that moment I felt a rush of clarity come to me: I loved N regardless of whether he loved me because I saw him for who he was. N who so wanted to do the right thing that it could sometimes blind his reasoning. N who cared deeply for others to the point that their happiness would replace his own. N who ambitiously wanted to change the world to a better place. N who could be too prideful to let others help him. N who lied when he thought it was in his best interest. N who was too stubborn for his own good. The good, the bad, all aspects of N I loved. I loved him despite his flaws, and I had faith that with time he could overcome them and become a better person. No, I'd do this for N even if I didn't romantically love him and he didn't love me. I'd do this because he was N, someone worth saving and someone worth loving.

I looked over at N and was shocked to see that he was weakly looking up at me, and I felt… no… knew that he had heard everything I'd just been thinking. 'You're my best friend, N. I love you. I want you to know that no matter what happens to me, I'd gladly do it for you. Every moment I spent with you and if could do this all over again, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Even… even the painful parts because you, N, are worth it to me.'

A sudden burning sensation ran through my body and I felt as if someone had poured molten lava into my veins. It was painful and it only got worse as I felt as if every part of my body was slowly being shredded to small pieces only to be further torn apart. It was the most agonizing sensation I'd experienced, but I also wanted it to happen. A blinding white light encompassed my body and in that moment my mind seemed to practically directly link to N's mind, and I could see and understand everything. I saw his childhood, felt his emotions, and reasoned the way he did. I understood him perfectly, and from that understanding came a perfect love. As I was seeing his memories, I instinctively knew he was seeing mine and while all this was happening I felt myself think, 'I promise to protect you, I promise to stand by your side when no one else will, I promise to love you no matter the conditions, I promise to be your constant companion, I promise to be your Guardian.'

The burning sensation that had been going through me no longer felt painful, instead it felt warm and bright. Almost like home. I also felt an odd sense of power run through me and I heard someone yell, "Ivory!" I looked up to see Yellow flying overhead with Red on his Charizard. He tossed me something which I immediately grabbed. I recognized it as Concordia's rod which, through a surge of power that seemed to come from me, it reacted for the first time and elongated to a fighting stick.

"No," I heard Ghetsis breathe and for the first time I could sense… wait, was I sensing this… genuine fear. "It can't be. No. You. You can't possibly have bonded with him."

I immediately sensed Osamu teleport behind me, and I swung the rod back and rammed it into his abdomen. The Triad grunted and thrust a dagger at my throat, but I easily bent over and avoided it. It was strange though… it was like I knew what he was going to do before he did it. Just like how I wasn't surprised when I heard a familiar battle cry from across the glade. I watched as Nightstar tackled Osamu in a volt of blue electricity and instinctively I knew Nightstar could handle it… because… he was a Celesta now… like me. I turned to Ghetsis who was now backing away from me.

I swung my fighting stick down onto Ghetsis' cane which he held up to protect himself. I immediately knew that the cane itself was made from psychic type Pokemon. I then pressed my weight against my fighting stick and Ghetsis' cane and was pleased to see the man begin to buckle under my strength. Which was funny since I was a skinny sixteen-year-old and he was this towering giant of a man. I pressed further until Ghetsis collapsed to his knees and I could see fractures spider across Ghetsis' cane. 'Not much longer,' I thought as I pressed further and bursts of light spilled through the cracks until at long last the cane split in two and the burst of light threw both me and Ghetsis back from where we had been standing.

I landed in a heap still clutching my fighting stick, and with the thoughts that I'd finally freed N from Team Plasma once and for all, I drifted off to black oblivion.

**A/N: So, a really long chapter! I know, but I wanted to get the final done with in one chapter.**

**Some notes on how the Celestas work: There is a hierarchy within royalty itself. The royal family technically rules together, but there really is one alpha (who is always the eldest of the two royal kids born each generation. The younger is only the next king/queen when the older one is dead or unavailable; the younger is the one to give birth to the next generation of royals. Jonathon did both since he was the oldest and his younger sister, Melody, ran away before she had any kids). The reason N's powers couldn't influence the Celestas was because they were only loyal to Jonathon. Not even Ava (because Jonathon hasn't stepped down and Ava hasn't been coronated) or Barrion can override Jonathon's commands.**

**Alphas, King Jonathon, can speak telepathically with his subjects which is how he knew what Ghetsis had said to Yellow.**

**Barrion and Ava are Jonathon's kids, but they wouldn't call him father except in private.**

**I got the idea of Drowzee being able to help others navigate their dreams from PMD: Explorers of the Sky where the main characters actually go into another person's dreams. This has been what Barrion's been doing when he's visited Anthea and N's dreams.**

**Ivory gained psychic abilities like Concordia's after she bonded with N. Nightstar broke free of the device's influence when Ivory became a Celesta because he also became a Celesta. Even though Ivory is bonded to N, she'll still respond to the Celesta's natural hierarchy and follow Jonathon's order (that is after they've joined. Technically N is a new line of Celestas and could create his own tribe, but… uh… that doesn't happen in this fic).**

**The Magikarp's important.**

**Yeah, there were a lot of Legendaries in this chapter… hopefully this wasn't too overwhelming.**

**This chapter felt like I was writing a scene from the Sonic movie only with Pokemon lol. Too many people use rings to teleport. If anything's been confusing or needs clarification, let me know!**

**Thanks again to anyone who's read this far! You mean a lot to me!**


	35. Chapter 35

Blinding white light momentarily filled the entire Giant Chasm before fading and revealing the demolished clearing and decimated trees. The clearing itself was littered with crumbled rocks and splintered wood which were blackened and still smoldering from the energy of the attacks that the Pokemon and Legendaries had hit them with. Trees were bent and contorted from the various impacts or they were blackened with small flames still burning the few remaining pines that were left. Glittering shards of ice were scattered across the clearing or stuck through the trees like javelins while others formed a wall formation with various Pokemon staring lifelessly from within the ice.

Chills cascaded down N's spine as he felt the now familiar power painfully return to him where it welled inside of him until it encompassed him in natural waves of silvery aura. N shuddered as an immediate wave of inner voices from the deities circling in the sky bombarded and overwhelmed him. There were so many foreign voices, most of which were busily listening and interacting with other voices he didn't recognize. It was Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom's voices that N could distinguish the most though.

The gray Tao dragon roared in frustration as Reshiram and Zekrom simultaneously attacked Kyurem and clawed through his conscious to try and return Kyurem to his submissiveness so that they could once again regain control. Kyurem swung his head madly while spouting bursts of ice that collided with the rocky edges of the chasm as he tried to fight off Reshiram and Zekrom, but the two were quickly gaining dominance.

N felt a painful tug at his wrists and he wearily turned to see a man with spiky black hair that N recognized as one of the Pokemon Masters. The man undid N's restraints and pulled the gag from his mouth. "They certainly did a number on you didn't they," the man murmured as he inspected N's swollen wrists and ran a hand down N's emaciated arm. "Only time and a proper diet will restore your weight. You'll need several days of rest before your powers return to their normal levels and you'll of course need months of visiting mental healers. However, I can do this for you. This will hurt a little," the man then reset N's wrist bones back to their proper place causing N to momentarily convulse in pain before there was a warmth that spread through his hands and the throbbing ache in his wrists he'd grown so accustomed to over the past months finally diminished until it was gone altogether.

N glanced down to see that the man's hands were glowing slightly and that the swelling and abrasions on his wrist had vanished. The man ran his hand lightly over N's arms healing his cuts and scratches before reaching his neck to heal the chaffing his collar had given him. "Y-You're one of them," N whispered hesitantly once the man had finished. "You're a Celesta, aren't you?"

The man smiled slightly, "Yes. My name's Chase. We've been looking for you for a while now."

N looked down in shame, "This entire time… the Celestas have been trying to find me. If I'd… if I'd just turned myself in… Opelucid City," N glanced over at the far end of the clearing where a girl lay crumpled on the ground, "…Ivory… Anthea and Concordia… Cheren… Trixie… all my Pokemon… none of them would have been hurt if I'd just… if I'd just… told the truth. If I'd… Oh Arceus."

"If I recall correctly," Chase said calmly while glancing back at the fallen frigate, "The one that hurt all those people was Team Plasma and Ghetsis Harmonia."

"But I-"

"I'm not saying what you did was right," Chase interjected, "but I will say that single-mindedly thinking that all of Team Plasma's actions were a direct result of what you did is unwise and completely untrue. Ghetsis would have terrorized Unovans regardless of whether he had your powers, each individual Team Plasma member made their own choices, and your friends chose to help you no matter the dangers. Do not take away the validity of their choices by blaming yourself entirely."

N shook his head and was about to argue when there was a sudden rush of wind that gusted through the clearing and shook the trees. Chase immediately stood and politely backed away from N while bowing. N shivered slightly before he turned to look behind him and saw the sleek white body of Lugia as he gracefully landed to the charred ground. A man, Jonathon as Ghetsis had called him, glowing the same hue as the ridges running along Lugia's back psychically moved himself off the deity and landed in front of N.

N instinctively scooted away from Jonathon when he heard a distinct voice in his mind, 'I am not here to hurt you, N.' Jonathon moved towards N and knelt in front of him. He had gray-blue eyes, the same as N's, and when he smiled, it reminded N of his mother and how it seemed to light up his whole face. 'I'm sorry we could not meet in better circumstances, but nonetheless, I am still pleased to meet you.'

"Why would you want to see me?" N whispered looking down in shame. "I shouldn't even exist. My powers nearly destroyed the Unova Region."

'Every living creature has a right to exist regardless of their origins,' Jonathon replied gently.

"You don't really believe that," N lashed out. "I'm just a means to an end to my father, and to all of you I'm nothing but a mistake. I'm sure if you could change the past you wouldn't hesitate to make sure I wasn't born."

Jonathon sighed, 'N, even if Dialga granted me the power to drastically change time, neither I nor any of the Celestas would ever do something like that. We would never extinguish a life and alter all the potential good or evil they may bring to this world simply because we don't like how that life was brought into the world. True I wish my younger sister hadn't made the choices she did, but I will not reverse the consequences of those actions. That would be imposing my will onto others when I myself do not know what is best for her or for the rest of the world. Besides, you're forgetting the most important aspect all sentient life shares.'

N finally looked up at Jonathon who was watching him patiently. "What?"

'All of us choose our own destinies. Right now, all you see is a destroyed chasm that was a direct result from your actions. All you see in yourself is a boy that's been tortured and used for their abilities. I can feel you thinking that life would be better without you in it. That if you didn't exist, these atrocities wouldn't happen. All you see is what's happening right here and right now, but what I see is a young man who comes from less than ideal circumstances but has the potential to do a great deal of good with his Arceus given abilities. I view what has happened here as a mere sliver of your life rather than a defining moment. You have a choice, N, on what person you want to be. Will you continue to see yourself as a mistake or embrace your origins and move on with a bright hope of the future? How will you grow from this experience and use it to help others who are struggling?'

"But I've hurt too many people already!" N cried desperately. "Maybe a pep talk like that would work on a person whose been caught cheating on a test, but I've caused thousands of people to die."

'The consequences of our actions are perhaps the hardest to accept,' Jonathon replied sadly. 'With our abilities, we can wipe out entire races and civilizations. We can rule as tyrants or radically change our environment. At the same time, we can use those same abilities to save and protect the earth we live in. The hardest reality all royalty must face is that the consequences of using our powers are far more drastic than any human can comprehend. It is why we rely on gathering wisdom from others and our own experiences rather than relying on ourselves for the correct answers. We use our powers conservatively and avoid conflict to prevent catastrophes like these from occurring. N, you can learn these things as well. You can learn how to properly channel your powers and know when it's right or wrong time to use them.' Jonathon offered his hand to N, 'We the Celestas can teach you this if you let us.'

N hesitated momentarily before accepting Jonathon's hand who then pulled N up to his feet. N's knees buckled and he staggered against Jonathon who wrapped an arm around him and firmly held him to keep him from completely collapsing. Jonathon looked back to the sky where the Tao dragons were still fighting internally and spouting random bursts of energy whether they be ice, fire, or electricity. 'We can start helping the Unovans by first reversing what was done to their patron gods.'

"But how?" N asked hopelessly as he watched the wild god. "Team Plasma fused them together. What can we do to stop that?"

'You can still hear them, can't you? Their voices. There's still time for them to be separated,' Jonathon replied calmly. 'You know their voices—their spirits—better than me or my children do. You've connected to each of them at one point or another. Focus on Zekrom first, then Kyurem, and finally Reshiram. Once you've found each of them, begin pulling them. I'll lend you my own energy to help you do this.'

N stared at Kyurem's gray body and remembered how it had been to reach out to Zekrom for the first time—wild, painful, but completely satisfying. Zekrom had such a fiery determination in everything he did. Always seeking for something better and firmly believing that the goal was worth the fight and struggle to get to. Yet there was also the softer side to Zekrom, the side that saw the best in people and could envision an optimal way of life for each individual. There was an inherent undercurrent of optimism that ran through Zekrom which N had loved when they had been together. Yet, Zekrom pursued the ideal even when it was impossible to achieve, or the sadder being that Zekrom would follow the ideal blindly and without regard to the hurt he caused to get there even though by doing this it resulted in him ruining his own ideal world.

The Tao Dragon balked momentarily, and the deity swung his head now to gaze at N. He felt Zekrom in the gaze, and N continued to push towards Kyurem. Kyurem who was hurt and alone… who craved love and attention but was never given it. N easily connected with Kyurem since they had spent so much time together for these last few months. Reshiram was more difficult. Her pursuit of truth left her no room for much affection or emotion. Her mind was far colder and more calculating than Zekrom's ever had been, but there was a warmth of justice and a revelry in total honesty that wasn't found in Zekrom. She too turned her conscious to him and all three of them in unison gently landed in front of him and stared at N.

He focused on all three of their inner voices, saw them in his mind's eye and began to pull on each of their individual characteristics. He felt a massive drain of his own energy, but Jonathon was true to his word and transferred the majority of his energy to N. N leaned heavily against Jonathon, but he continued to focus on the Tao Dragons until a blinding aura encompassed the deity. 'Come to me, Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem.' As he thought this, he heard the distinct cries of three Legendaries, and when the light faded, the three gods stood in front of them finally separated as they should be.

* * *

"Wow," Black whispered as he stared at the three gods stretching their wings in front of them. Zekrom had moved forward to gently nuzzle N's green hair and Kyurem had moved sheepishly away from Reshiram who was roaring at him indignantly. "That was pretty cool."

Black glanced around at the chasm and noticed that the majority of Plasma members had all been rounded up by Sinnoh Pokemon snapping at their heels or sleeping Unova Pokemon that shuffled behind them. He noticed that all the Sages aside from Ghetsis, Rood, and Gorm were huddled together with several human Celestas guarding them while the Pokemon Masters watched over Alex, Jenna, Peter, Jackson, and Rosa. "Well, it looks like that's the end of Team Plasma," Black said in relief until he glanced over at his sister who hadn't so much as stirred ever since she fell. Black and Bianca glanced over at each other before simultaneously shouting Ivory's name and dashing over to her.

"Oi! Flopping Magikarp over here," Magikarp shouted as she spastically hopped behind them. "Yeh got two feet while I've got fins. I can only go so fast!"

The two ignored her while they leapt over fallen tree trunks and picked their way through crumbled stone before they finally reached Ivory's side. Bianca knelt next to her and began shaking Ivory's shoulder, "Ivory! Ivory! Wake up, please!"

Ivory still didn't respond. Black leaned his head against her chest and sighed in relief, "There's still a heartbeat, but she's not responding at all. We need to find Yellow or someone that can heal."

Magikarp, who had apparently been on their heels the entire time as she appeared right behind Bianca, said, "Yeh don't need no healers for this lass. She's just absorbed too much energy. What she really needs is this," the Magikarp proceeded to shoot a burst of water directly at Ivory's face before leaping onto her chest and slapping her face repeatedly with fins. "HELLO! Wake up yeh sleepy head. Yeh saved the world and yer boyfriend! Woohoo! Let's party."

Ivory's eyes flew open and without thinking, she swiftly grabbed the Magikarp's tail and hurtled it across the ruined clearing where the Magikarp shouted, "Told yeh!" as she flew over the Unovan patron gods' heads and landed unceremoniously on the far side of the field.

"Oh my Arceus! I didn't mean to do that! I was just… uh…" Ivory started before staring at the three gods and whispering, "we did it."

Bianca had immediately toppled onto Ivory in a wild hug quickly followed by Black. "We were so worried for you! I can't believe you stopped Ghetsis. It was so crazy. You like started to glow and stuff."

"But the important thing is that you kicked Ghetsis' tail clear across a field and broke his cane," Black added enthusiastically. "I can't believe you did it. We really made it!"

Ivory buried her head into Black's shoulder and tightly squeezed Bianca, "Don't worry, I'm okay. I just feel a little woozy."

"How did you know I was going to ask-" Bianca started before Ivory stood bringing Bianca and Black up with her as if it was nothing to hoist two nineteen-year-olds to their feet. "Holy Arceus, Ivory! You're strong!"

Ivory shook her head, "I can't believe I just did that." Her expression then visibly faltered and she looked down.

"What's wrong?" Bianca asked worriedly.

"And where's Cheren?" Black asked while scanning the crowd of defeated neo Team Plasma members and the Pokemon Masters. "Is he with the Celestas or something?"

Ivory continued staring down at her feet and whispered, "He… the Shadow Triad… they… they…"

Black's smile now fell, and he pursed his lips before whispering, "…oh…" He turned away and ran his hand through his hair. "Bastards. Cheren didn't deserve… Arceus."

Bianca simply shook her head repeatedly as tears started rolling down her cheeks, "No. He can't be… there has to be a mistake. Maybe the Celestas… he's going to be okay… he's not… no…"

They gathered together once more and embraced, and for just a moment, it felt like Cheren was with them in that circle as well.

**SnowCatt: Magikarp is so much fun to write! Already becoming my favorite character in the short time I've been writing her lol.**


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36:

As a child and well into her adult years, Iris had always relished in the victory the came after defeating a particularly difficult opponent. There was always a thrill that came when the opponent's last Pokemon fell and she could finally appreciate all the arduous hours of reviewing strategy and training her Pokemon on specific move combos. After the battle at Plasma Mansion last year, the same surge of pride and accomplishment had come to her only soured slightly by N's escape. Looking back on it now, she realized she could only enjoy that victory because she had turned the responsibility of Team Plasma's aftermath to Alder once he'd been freed and that there were so few people hurt during the attack that it was almost negligible. But this… this was different.

The crystalline javelines of ice skewering the black trees ringing the decimated clearing served as a reminder of her home covered in ice. It brought back memories of all the icy Opelucid civilians she had seen frozen in their tracks as they ran from neo Team Plasma's attack. Scattered along the charred ground between the splintered branches were the bodies of both neo Team Plasma members as well as countless Unovan and even Sinnoh Pokemon.

Iris watched as a small Deerling that couldn't have been more than a week old stumbled through the debris on wobbling feet. It clumsily tripped over the bodies and over to a Sawsbuck lying motionlessly on the ground. The Deerling gently nudged its nose against the Sawsbuck and squeaked urgently; it did this several times always hoping for a response but only being met with silence. The Deerling's squeaks became more urgent and baleful as the small Pokemon finally came to the realization that the Sawsbuck would never again get up to lead the herd. On the far side of the clearing a young Deino anxiously swung its head blindly back and forth while giving a shrill cry and waiting for a response from its clan not yet knowing that they'd all been killed during the battle. It was like this throughout the Giant Chasm with the Pokemon nuzzling each other or mournfully calling out for fallen comrades. Iris shook her head: no… this was nothing like any victory she'd ever experienced. It was cold and bitter and only warmed with the reassurance that they'd stopped neo Team Plasma from causing this same harm to the rest of Unova.

"Champion Iris," a soft melodic voice sounded snapping Iris from her brooding. She glanced away from the crying Pokemon and destroyed field to see N nervously standing a little ways from her. When she made eye contact, he quickly averted his eyes in shame and nervously shuffled his feet before whispering, "I-I'm sorry. F-For everything. I-If I hadn't run… none of this… I-I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to the League and now… I…" N trailed off and reverted to staring solemnly at his shoes and didn't finish.

Anger roiled through Iris' veins as N said this. No amount of apologizing would bring back all the people that he'd inadvertently killed, the ruined state his actions had left Unova and League both times, all the lives destroyed by Ghetsis and N's lies. But as Iris stared at his matted green hair, his haunted eyes as he nervously glanced up at her, and the way his body physically tensed in response to the abuse he thought he'd receive, Iris felt the wave of initial anger gradually recede. She suppressed any negative responses she envisioned screaming at N and reminded herself that any reaction like that would only be hurting one of Ghetsis' victims rather than Ghetsis himself, the man who had ultimately caused all this destruction. Iris took a calming breath before saying, "N… running from the League was a mistake and it hurt countless people including yourself. Lying to the League about your identity and intentions is what caused all this destruction to begin with and no apology will ever fix that mistake."

N looked away from Iris once more and whispered, "I know…"

Iris gently placed a hand on N's shoulder and continued, "That being said, all of us do things that we wish to Arceus we could change, and by the looks of it, your choices have put you through a living Distortion World. I can't imagine what Team Plasma put you through before or during your time on the Plasma Frigate or how Ghetsis influenced you to make the choices you did, but I hope you don't keep letting them influence you. I can't speak on behalf of Unova, but N… I forgive you." Iris firmly gripped N's shoulder causing him to hesitantly look up at her as she said forcefully, "don't make me regret that decision by you following in your parents' footsteps. I expect you to be a much better person than they ever could imagine."

N nodded solemnly as Jonathon walked over with Kyurem lumbering at his side. Jonathon paused beside N and said, "We must be leaving soon before the Unova League reinforcements arrive. Go to Ivory and together bid your final farewells to your friends before we leave." N looked startled and frightened by this, but he wordlessly nodded and turned to walk to the far side of the field where Ivory, Bianca, and Black stood talking to each other.

"Thank you for your help," Iris said to Jonathon once N was out of earshot, "we couldn't have done this without you."

Jonathon smiled sadly as he glanced around the ruined field and the mournful Pokemon, "I only wish we could have done so before all this destruction befell your Region. Fortunately, though our powers may be destructive, they can also be used to heal and restore." As Jonathon said this, golden hoops once again reappeared surrounding the clearing and in descended countless flying Shaymin each emanating an aroma that quickly filled the entire area. Dozens of Shaymin landed on top of Pokemon including the gods themselves much to Iris' surprise. She watched as at least fifteen Shaymin settled across Kyurem's arched back and began to radiate aroma therapy causing Kyurem to croon and close his yellow eyes. Lugia himself spread out his wings to allow as many Shaymin to land on him as possible and the wild Unovan Pokemon's cries gained a more cheerful edge as their injured clan members were healed. The bright light of several Pokemon evolving to fill the role as new clan leader soon filled the area and the few orphaned Pokemon remaining, such as the small Deino Iris had seen earlier, were taken by the Celestas back to the Sinnoh Region.

The Shaymin didn't stop at healing the Pokemon though, they circled the smoke-filled sky and absorbed the toxic air and quickly purified it until the air was clear once more. They did the same for the blackened trees and charred ground even managing to cause a few buds of green to poke through all the decay though the majority of plant life still remained dead. The Mandibuzz that had previously been circling the air and waiting for the right opportunity to dig into the abundant corpses beneath them respectfully landed in the few upright trees to wait for the Shaymin to finish healing instead of attacking them as Mandibuzz instinctively would have done.

Dozens of Rotom also spilled out from a golden ring and erratically shot towards the fallen frigate, "We'll have to destroy any and all research Team Plasma ever conducted on N and Kyurem," Jonathon explained as he watched the Rotom enter the frigate. "The Rotom will destroy all files, online data, and hard drives Team Plasma may have here as well as in their P2 laboratory. It's best if humans know as little as possible about us and our abilities. All remaining members of Team Plasma will have their memories of this battle removed as well as anything linking them to the Celestas. I ask you to keep that in mind when you and your League interrogate them."

"And what about him?" Iris practically spat as she glowered over at Ghetsis who had been hauled to his feet by a couple of Celestas. Before Jonathon could respond, she marched through the debris of the field and over to Ghetsis who was still gripping what remained of his shattered cane. His green hair was in disarray, his red eyepatch cracked, and he glowered at Iris hatefully as she approached.

"Come to gloat have we, Iris. I must say it isn't very-" Iris didn't let him finish as she punched him square across the jaw causing him to topple to the ground. The Celestas who had been guarding him simply chuckled and made no attempt to stop Iris from adding another kick to her assault.

"That's for Opelucid City and all of Unova you son-of-a-Herdier," Iris hissed. Iris spun around to Jonathon who had followed her over to Ghetsis and said, "Promise me that whatever the Distortion World you do to him it'll be Arceus awful."

Jonathon smiled darkly, "Trust me, Iris. Our punishments for breaking the Celesta law are not very forgiving and are far more shall we say… unique… than typical human punishment." He turned to Ghetsis who had once more been dragged to his feet by the Celestas, "For exploiting Celesta and the gods' powers, for manipulating and torturing royalty, and for causing countless people to lose their lives, your punishment, Ghetsis Harmonia, will be your greatest nightmare. Take him away."

A golden ring appeared behind Ghetsis and the Celestas forcefully dragged him through it before it closed all together. "What did you mean by that?" Iris asked. "What's his greatest nightmare?"

Jonathon shrugged, "I don't know. You'll have to ask Darkrai what it is since he'll be handling the punishment." Jonathon's aura shifted to an icy blue as he turned to Kyurem who was staring at them with his head slightly cocked to the side, "Besides, Opelucid City needs to be freed from its icy confines. Kyurem, if you will."

Kyurem roared in acknowledgement as a golden hoop generated directly in front of Jonathon and Iris. Jonathon gestured towards the hoop and said, "You don't want to miss this." Iris hesitated for a moment as she stared at the bright light pouring through the hoop before cautiously stepping through to find her instantly stepping into the center of Opelucid City where she'd been earlier the night before after neo Team Plasma's attack. The rising sun's rays glinted brightly off the icy spires making the entire city glimmer and seem more surreal than it had been previously. Then to add the oddity of the scene, balls of bright blue light slowly pieced themselves off the tops of the buildings and floated upward before disappearing all together. Soon the entire city was filled with this blinding blue light that slowly ate away at the ice revealing the city beneath.

"How… how… how is this possible?" Iris asked dumbfounded as she stared at the phenomenon in front of her. "How can Kyurem reverse his own attack?"

Jonathon sighed, "I'm not as acquainted with human scientific terminology, but I'm assuming you're referring to your laws of thermodynamics. That energy has a natural order in which it falls. A Pokemon that's used a move once cannot suddenly reverse its effects, something burned must remain charred and cannot return to its fromer state. The gods operate within the boundaries of entirely different laws than mortals do. It requires a great deal of energy and they reverse the effects by accessing the Distortion World and… hmm… perhaps this explanation is a bit difficult to understand. Would you simply accept: it's magic?"

Iris laughed, "Magic huh… why the Distortion World not after everything I've seen." She stood there for a moment, basking in the light as more and more of her city was freed from its icy prison. As the light moved further down, windows started opening and the citizens began happily shouting praises to Arceus. Soon enough, the blue light had completely enveloped the city and the ground. When it finally diminished and faded to nothing, the Opelucid citizens were running outside and sobbing both from joy as they embraced their loved ones and others from sorrow when they found their friends and family who had been on the street and died in the blast. Again, Iris felt the bitter and the sweet of this victory.

"Iris!" Iris heard a familiar voice call out. She looked through the crowded street and saw her familiar burly white-bearded father.

"Dad!" Iris shouted as she sprinted across the street to where he stood only to run straight into a tight Bewear hug. "A little tight there, Dad."

"I thought I'd lost you," Drayden whispered—his voice cracking slightly with emotion. "If it hadn't been for my Haxorus protecting me from the blast I would've… I… I just want you to know that I love you, Iris."

"Love you too, Dad," Iris whispered as she buried her head into his shoulder. "When I saw the city… I just assumed… thank Arceus you're alive."

"How did you do it, Iris? I've never seen anything like that before… and there's no trace of the ice at all."

Iris glanced back over at Jonathon only to see that he was gone. Iris smiled slightly, "Magic, Dad. And a lot of help from the gods."

* * *

"This is goodbye isn't it," Bianca whispered as we watched the last orbs of blue light fade into nothing and Kyurem silently slink off into the dark recesses of the Giant Chasm's forest. Reshiram and Zekrom had given a final cry before they too had sprung to the air and flown in opposite directions to a secluded and secure area for them to revert back to the Light and Dark stones respectively. Lugia and Ho-Oh had already left along with the majority of the Shaymin through Hoopa's rings and the Plasma Frigate was being torn apart from the inside out by a bunch of hyperactive Rotom. The remaining members of Team Plasma were sprawled on the ground with Cresselia hovering over them to erase their memories and all the remaining wild Pokemon had returned to what was left of their ruined home.

I gripped Bianca's hand tightly and didn't reply. I didn't want to… I knew that this would inevitably come long before I bonded with N, but the actual moment of saying goodbye was worse than I had ever imagined. I didn't know if I'd ever see Bianca, Black, or my parents again. I'd live in a place I'd never seen before with strangers I hardly knew aside from N. I felt N's own anxiety and fear mounting as he thought about the future while simultaneously regretting his past and I could already feel him start to tremble from all the trauma he'd experienced these last few months. I leaned my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arm around his waist to pull him close to me.

Black looked over at me, "You're going to visit, aren't you? I mean, you have to say bye to Mom and Dad and… and… we'll meet up again in years to come."

"Black… what would I say to Mom and Dad if I met them?" I whispered refusing to make eye contact with him. "Hey guys I'm a Celesta now and I'm going to live with them and my boyfriend who's also my ward now so see ya?"

"You could say you're studying in Sinnoh," Black said defensively with a hint of anger entering his voice, "and you'd just visit during the holidays or something. It could work."

I silently shook my head, but I wasn't forced to answer since Red, Yellow, and Red's Charizard had returned to the field where Charizard landed beside the other Pokemon Masters and Celestas who had remained to guard Team Plasma. "We didn't find Colress anywhere in the Giant Chasm," Red told us. I felt N immediately tense and involuntarily press his hand against his throat even though he no longer had his collar since a Rotom had destroyed it. Red turned to N and smiled, "But we did find someone important."

A black puffball jumped off the Charizard and quickly bounded over to N as he said, "Trixie! I was so worried about you!"

Trixie leapt into N's arms and affectionately nuzzled her head beneath his chin, _"I'm so sorry I couldn't stop them… I… I'm sorry that I let them hurt you." _She fiercely looked up at N and growled, _"If I ever see that slimy, amoral, crappy hairstyle freak, I'm gonna blast his freaking head off."_

"It's okay Trixie," N said as Trixie curled into a ball against his chest, "I'm just glad you're alright." He looked up at Red and whispered, "Thank you for finding her… do you think you can find Dr. Colress before he does something… horrible?"

Red smiled and said reassuringly, "He won't make it very far before we catch him."

"Especially since a few of our aura users know his aura," Yellow added, "no matter how far he runs, they'll always find him."

"I'm more worried that he still has that Pokemon control device. Even if Kayla damaged it during the battle, who knows what he'll do with technology like that," Pearl said worriedly.

"All the more reason for us to find him before he can do any of the Regions harm," Ruby said. "Um… speaking of Regions… the United Regions is coming to help Unova and Iris just called from Opelucid City to say that the Elite Four and League reinforcements are coming to arrest Team Plasma and go through whatever is left of the Plasma Frigate," He glanced over awkwardly at Yellow and the other Celestas, "just so you… uh… know."

Kayla nodded curtly and turned to the other Celestas, "It's time we leave." This caused the remaining Rotom, who were now outside the frigate and possessing hard drives, computers, and random lab devices while playfully shooting bursts of electricity at each other, to immediately leave their technology and sporadically zip though the air to a ring that had appeared beside them. She turned to Barrion who was still next to Cresselia looking over the sleeping Plasma members, "And Barrion I better not find that you've planted memories in those humans. If I learn that you did, you'll be banned access to the Dream Realm for nearly a month."

Barrion turned back to Kayla and said, "But Mother, imagine how funny it'd be if the humans started spouting out stories of how Ghetsis Harmonia ran down the ship like a Mankey! It'd be hilarious!"

"No," Kayla said flatly. She turned to the Pokemon Masters and quickly bowed to them, "We thank you for your assistance in this endeavor." She finally walked over to us and said, "It won't be long before the League arrives. I ask you to keep your farewells brief and when you are finished, enter this portal," as she said this, a golden ring appeared with blinding white light spilling out of it.

"W-Wait!" Bianca cried shrilly, "You can't be leaving so suddenly. Uh… the king… he's not back so… so maybe you have to stay longer."

Kayla shook her head, "He has already left to speak with the gods privately. He'll return directly to the Sinnoh Region rather than here. Besides, you're all exhausted from the night's battle and it's time to leave."

"But… Ivory needs to say goodbye to everyone! She can't leave like this," Bianca floundered.

"I know you will miss your friend," Kayla said gently as she lightly placed a hand on Bianca's shoulder who quickly shrugged it off and looked away to hide the tears forming in her eyes, "but you know that this cannot last. It would be difficult for Ivory to even bid her farewells to her parents since the League will report Ivory Greystorm as another of Team Plasma's causalities."

"You're just going to say she died!?" Black now demanded, "You're going to force her to live in isolation away from her family just because she's a Celesta now!? Why can't she visit? Or… or why can't she live with you part time or something? She doesn't need to leave!"

"Black," I shouted and turned to face them. "It's okay. I chose to do this long before I became a Celesta and bonded to N. I'm sorry, but… it really is for the best. Even if I could visit you, you'd never know what I did, and it could be dangerous for the Celestas and you if I did visit. Please… if this is the last time I ever see you, I don't want it to be like this. Please."

Bianca was now crying in earnest and she grabbed me in a tight hug, "Oh Ivory… you… and… Cheren… oh Arceus. Ivory, you're my best friend and I love you so much. You're more like a sister I never had than anything else. We've been through so much together." She looked up at me then—tears streaking down her now puffy cheeks and her eyes swollen and red from crying, "I thought we'd be together forever after this… even with college and everything we kept in touch and now… now…" Bianca again buried her head into my shoulder, "Now I'll never see you again. And it's all happening so fast. Cheren… you… I… don't think I can handle this."

"Yes you can," I whispered as I tightened my embrace around her, "because the people we love never really leave us. I… I just want you to know that I think of you as my sister too. I couldn't imagine going on my journeys without you by my side. I love you, Bianca. And I want to say you're the bravest person that I know. You're so much stronger than you think."

I turned to Black who was still shaking in rage and desperately wiping his eyes. I opened my arms to him, and he quickly accepted the hug. He held me tightly and didn't say anything for a long time. "Ivory… I'm sorry I wasn't a better big brother. I spent way more time thinking about myself than I ever did you. I was so caught up in the idea of being a Pokemon Master and having everyone know my name that I didn't see the most important things in this world were there in front of me the entire time. Arceus I'm starting to sound like Mom aren't I." He squeezed me tightly, "You know this isn't over. We're going to see each other again. It'll be like old times except you'll be super powerful and can kick some serious ass. I love you Ivory."

"I love you too, Black, and I think you're a great older brother. And you know what, I hope you become a the best Pokemon Master there ever was." And because I couldn't bare to say goodbye to him I whispered, "See you later, Black," before I slipped out of his hug.

Black let me go and said, "See you, Ivory." He affectionately rubbed Nightstar's head, "I'll miss you too buddy. Take care of Ivory okay."

_"Of course, Black,"_ Nightstar said as he jumped to Black's shoulder and then onto his head to make his hair stand on end from the electricity just like he used to when we were kids. Nightstar jumped back to my shoulder, _"I'll miss you."_

"Good luck with your new life, N," Black said turning to N, "guess you really were a king this entire time and not just because Team Plasma said so."

"I'll miss you N," Bianca said as she hugged N, "but at least you'll be around people like you. And just think of all the amazing things you'll learn about yourself with them!"

"Thank you," N said quietly, "and I can't thank you enough for bringing down the Plasma Frigate."

Then came the moment, the pause where we all knew it was time to go. I grabbed N's hand and gripped it tightly before finally saying, "Black, tell Mom and Dad that I love them, and don't you ever forget that I love you. Bianca, I love you… I… I hope you become a Professor like you've always wanted. I love you both."

"We love you, too," Bianca insisted, "and we'll never forget you, you know. Not in a million years."

"I know, and I'll never forget any of you," I said as I brushed the tears that had started blurring my vision. I glanced around the Giant Chasm a final time, took in Bianca and Black, the Unova Pokemon, thought about my parents at home probably worried about me and Black, I even took in Team Plasma and all the horrible things they did to us. I took it all in because I didn't want to forget a single moment. N gently squeezed my hand, and with a final goodbye to Bianca and Black, N and I stepped into the glowing light from Hoopa's ring and into the Sinnoh Region.


	37. Epilogue

The sun gradually dipped lower in the sky, streaking the sky with pink and orange hues and causing the gently lapping ocean to glint and reflect those same colors. Bianca idly tossed some pokefood into the dark water and watched as dozens of Basculin surfaced to swallow the pellets whole only to quickly dart away as Blade rushed forward and ravenously snagged all the food from the wild Pokemon. "Hey buddy, leave some for the rest of the Pokemon will ya," Black chided teasingly. Blade blinked at him momentarily before grumbling and dipping underneath the water once more. Black sighed, "I understand what parents have to go through with teenagers now. Blade's been kind of obnoxious ever since I released him."

"Well they never said being a Pokemon Master would be easy," Bianca said calmly as she leaned her head against Black's shoulder and watched Blade lazily resurface and bob with the waves. "Besides, he still listens to you in battle and he respects you. You'll be good friends like you were before in no time."

"I hope so," Black said as he rubbed one hand along Blade's new purple master ball, "I hope the rest of the team will adjust quickly when I release them."

"I'm sure they will," Bianca said reassuringly, "before you know it, you'll be back in the Pokemon League beating both the Elite Four and Whisperers alike."

They sat on the docks in silence for a long time—listening to nothing aside from the lapping water, the ships knocking against the wooden planks, and the occasional squawks of Wingull and Pelipper floating in the breeze. As the sun dipped below the horizon and started melting into the sea, Bianca whispered, "How are your parents?"

Black stared at the dying light for a moment before responding, "It's been hard for them. It's only been six months since Ivory left… and today's especially hard with it being her birthday. Mom cried all morning saying she'd be seventeen today if she were still…" Black again stopped and stared down at the water where Blade looked up at him and nudged his foot comfortingly. Black continued, "They don't really talk about her a lot, but I know Mom kind of blames herself for not… I don't know… trying to stop Ivory from going on her journey. For letting her run off and try and stop Team Plasma."

Again they sat in quiet for a long time as stars began peaking through the clear sky and the chirping sound of Palpitoad and Tympole filled the air. "I miss them," Bianca finally said, "I miss them both. Cheren and Ivory... it's not the same here without them. Especially with Mr. and Mrs. Amari moved out and… Professor Greystorm and Juniper so quiet. It's not… the place we grew up in."

"I know. It's why… it's why I want to start traveling again. I'm planning a big trip to the Kanto Region with Mom and Dad to see all the sights and then… I'm going to challenge the Gyms and enter the Pokemon Tournament there." Black paused as he turned to Bianca and gently squeezed her hand, "I'd… like you to come with me. You could study there, too. You've always wanted to meet Professor Oak."

Bianca looked up at Black to see him watching her with hope and slight worry—not knowing whether this too would be another goodbye. In response, Bianca leaned close and pressed her lips against his to meet an eagerly returned kiss. "I'd like that. We all need a new start, and I can't imagine any person I'd rather start a new life with than with you." Again their lips met, but this time with more confidence as with each passing kiss it deepened in passion.

As twilight faded into night, Bianca and Black finally stood from the docks and returned to Nuvema Town after Black returned Blade to his master ball. They chatted lightly about Bianca's studies in Pokemon biology and Black's training with his Pokemon as they walked hand in hand up the sloping hill to Black's lighted house, but the minute they stepped inside the warm home, their conversation stopped. Sitting serenely at the table across from Professor and Mrs. Greystorm was a young woman with light pink hair and next to her was the Gym Leader Cilan with his arm casually draped across her shoulders.

Bianca couldn't help but stop and gape at the young woman as she stuttered, "A-Anthea!?"

Anthea smiled and delicately put her teacup down, "Bianca and Black, it's so nice to see you two again. It's been what, two years?"

Black shook his head slightly in confusion and said, "I thought you were in the hospital or something. I didn't know you'd been released."

"Anthea here was just telling us all about her recovery," Mrs. Greystorm explained as she ushered Black and Bianca over to the table, "… and she was… telling us about… when Ivory used to visit her, Concordia, and N in the woods."

Anthea's smile faltered slightly when she heard Concordia's name, but her voice was steady as she said, "It took a long time to recover. I still can only walk with a cane and I feel tired all the time, but it's something I'll have to get used to," Anthea looked directly at Black and Bianca, "some things broken can never be fully fixed even when the two people that broke it try to put it back together again."

The Greystorms and Cilan looked confused by this, but Black and Bianca openly stared at her before exchanging glances with each other. Anthea quickly turned to the Greystorms and gently placed her hand on Cilan's, "If you three don't mind, I'd like to talk to Black and Bianca in private for a moment. I'd like to give them a present."

Cilan gently kissed Anthea's cheek, "Of course, sweet scent." He left the room while chatting with Professor Greystorm about his newest research while Mrs. Greystorm sent fleeting glances back at Black and Bianca before leaving the room as well.

Once they were gone, Anthea turned to Black and Bianca, "I heard about what you two, Cheren, and Ivory did back on the Plasma Frigate and I wanted to thank you for what you did," Anthea stared down at her hands, "I realize now that it should have been me on that frigate, but… I suppose it was never meant to be. Thank you for saving my brother."

Bianca not being able to contain her silence anymore blurted out, "Well, we wouldn't have been able to without the Celestas. They kind of swooped in and saved the day."

"I know, Ivory told me."

Bianca gaped and Black had to keep himself from shouting as he said, "Wait, you've seen Ivory!? Does that mean you've been with the Celestas?"

"Yes… they were the ones that kept me alive until N came. We couldn't fix our bond since both of us have… gone different ways, but with his powers my body's been stabilized so it doesn't need high amounts of energy to survive." Bianca and Black were leaning anxiously forward eager to ask a million questions, but Anthea quickly cut in, "Before you ask me about Celesta Society or about Ivory, you should know that I can't remember most of what happened. I'm sure you've experienced something similar yourselves the first time you woke up after the battle in the Giant Chasm. Some details are blurred, and you can't remember all the faces or even gods that you saw that day."

Bianca glanced over at Black who nodded sadly, "Yeah. It's kind of annoying, but like… I can barely remember anything about the Celestas. I know they were flying through a bunch of hoops and there were a ton of Sinnoh Pokemon everywhere… and Kyurem was blasting everything with ice, but… I can't even remember which of the Legendaries they had fighting them. The royal family is completely gone from my head, and the worst part is that I know there was someone who took us to the Plasma Frigate and had some sweet powers, but I can't even picture them anymore." Black huffed indignantly, "I just wish they'd told us they were gonna do that before they, you know, wiped our memories."

Anthea smiled darkly, "Yes… well… I'm afraid the Celestas don't trust humans all that much. Especially after seeing what some of them do with the knowledge when they have it."

The atmosphere in the room seemed to grow heavier after Anthea said this, but Bianca quickly tried to lighten the mood by adding, "Well at least we still remember Ivory and N. That's what really matters. Besides, we still know that Celestas exist and that all the Legendaries are real. Most people have no idea that stuff like that is real. The most they can do is believe."

"That's true," Black conceded, "I'm glad that we at least know that Ivory's okay."

"Speaking of which," Anthea said as she pulled out a leather-bound journal, "Ivory asked me to give this to you, Bianca and Black."

Anthea slid the journal across the table to Bianca who quickly opened it to reveal neatly pressed parchment with… pictures all carefully placed inside. Bianca immediately recognized it as a pokejournal. Instead of simply being filled with pictures of them on their journey last summer, it was filled with pictures of them as children. There was one of Black squirting Cheren in the face with a hose while Bianca and Ivory raced through some sprinklers in Bianca's front lawn. Pictures of a young Black grinning from ear to ear as he stood in the stands of the first Pokemon League Tournament he'd ever attended. Bianca in a volleyball game and another with her winning her first science fair. A young Ivory and Nightstar crawling across the backyard toting a shovel with Ivory's messy scrawl beneath saying, "I'm sure there's still buried treasure in our backyard. Thanks for helping me dig all those holes even if we didn't find anything." Another picture with Cheren when he visited Striaton to see the Pokemon trainer school and wrote type matchups and strategies on the chalkboard. It then transitioned into their journeys together and Bianca fought back tears that were threatening to build up as she saw the familiar pictures of them on the road and later pictures that still included Rosa in it.

Then there was a final page with a Gracidea flower pressed inside and two pictures. One was of all of them, Cheren, Black, Bianca, and Ivory standing together smiling in front of Nuvema Labs with their starter Pokemon and Ivory with Nightstar. Bianca's fingers slid down to the final picture that showed both Ivory and N, but… it wasn't any Ivory and N Bianca recognized. They were standing at the shores of a beautiful crystal blue lake with craggy mountains and countless trees ringing the sides. Ivory wore a white tunic with black breeches and N stood beside her with a similarly aged attire only fancier, but it wasn't the clothes or the foreign background that made them look so strange. Ivory now had her long brown hair flowing freely behind her, and her normally skinny body had filled out to one of harder edges and well-toned muscles. Her head was held high, her eyes confident, and her smile was self-assured unlike the picture above where it only showed a shy girl hiding slightly behind her big hat and smiling nervously. N himself still had shorter green hair, but his hollow cheeks had filled, and his sunken eyes were no longer dull or even arrogant like they had been when Bianca had first met him. Now they were much wiser and humbler, his smile gentle, but his posture surprisingly exuded more confidence than she'd ever seen him have. Bianca had always thought N had looked like Ghetsis, but this N seemed more foreign and other worldly, but perhaps most of all, he appeared kinder than before.

On the other side of the page was a note from Ivory: "Bianca and Black, a thousand words couldn't describe how much I miss the two of you, and I couldn't even scratch the surface when it comes to how much you mean to me. Looking back on all these pictures reminded me of something you said at the beginning of last summer in Aspertia City—that pictures are how our posterity remember us and that important moments in history are caught on camera… something along those lines. It made me realize just how grateful I am that I have these pictures because you never know when it'll be the last time you see a person or experience something. Life can change so quickly and it's important to remember all those moments in our lives and the people we shared them with. We're on different paths now, and I don't know if we'll ever see each other again, but I still hope we will someday. I hope we can meet up again and share our stories of what happened in our lives, the things we've seen, the people we've met, and the places we've been. That's why I'm giving you this journal. I want you to fill the remaining pages with all the amazing things you did and to never stop trying new things."

When they'd finished reading, Anthea said, "I hope this helped."

"It's just a reminder that there's still so much that we have to do," Black said calmly as he pulled the journal towards him, "the next time we see Ivory, this entire journal will be filled."

**A/N Ugh... finally... done! This took such a long time to get through, and not gonna lie, I ran into so many writer's blocks along the way. I've never rewritten so many times than this story (including this epilogue). I definitely will say that the sequel was a lot harder than the first, but I also think it's because I myself was trying so much harder to write quality content than I was in the first story. I've learned a lot about writing and it honestly made me realize just how little I know. That being said, I actually really did like this story. It was very different than my first one, but I'm prouder of this one just because it was so much harder to write.**

**Anyway, the epilogue... why isn't there an Ivory and N scene? I literally for the life of me could not write it. I rewrote the scene so many times with Ivory and N talking about Celesta Society and what it's like, but... it got clunky and expositional which is what an epilogue definitely shouldn't be. And when I tried to cut that stuff out, it was kind of... uh... depressing. N was having traumatic nightmares and it was nice with Ivory comforting him, but then it would get too fluffy or preachy about what to do during trials. Then trying to wedge Nightstar and Trixie in there was just hard. The worst part though was the transition between Bianca's POV and Ivory's... it was just hard. Plus, 1st person POV was pretty rough because I'd have too many things going on for Ivory to sit back and observe. Instead I settled on a Bianca and Black epilogue where you see a sliver of what became of Ivory and N. I also wanted to leave Celesta Society itself up to the imagination of the reader since you can envision it however you want (if you really do want a basic background, look up French villages and European castles and northern European nature to get an idea... the Celestas are based on European fairy tales). I also wanted this to kind of be a hopeful end where the reader can imagine Ivory, N, Bianca, and Black meeting up in the future. The overall message though is that all the characters do heal by the end. I know I skipped over a lot of serious N trauma, but like... I've been so mean to N already that the readers can skip over his therapy haha. I'm sorry for anyone who wanted a different ending or really, really wanted to see N and Ivory from Ivory's POV. I really did try... it just wasn't working.**

**Also, I know there are a lot of loose ends that are like... wait... but you didn't do anything about this like Colress. Did he get captured? What happened to him? Will Black and Bianca really see Ivory again? The reason why I left a lot of these things open along with a more unclear ending with multiple ways to be interpreted is because I actually wrote this with a larger universe in mind. If I never wrote another fanfic, I feel like the story would be okay, but if I did pick it up, I could address a lot of these things that are meant to naturally spill into other stories.**

**Anyway, thank you so much to anyone's who read this entire way. For those of you who skipped ahead to the last chapter: hey! You missed a lot of insanity lol, but I'm still glad you're here and reading. Let me know what I could improve on, what you liked, and what you didn't like. I appreciate any and all help.**

**An especial thank you to SnowCatt for giving me motivation to keep writing to the end. Thank you Zorua, and Pokemon trainer 1, and everyone who favorited or followed this story! It means a lot to me!**


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